This week on Here’s What We Know, get ready to be inspired by the incredible journey of Anne Montgomery—a woman who’s rewritten the rules more than once and continues to live a life full of passion, purpose, and heart. Anne made history as one of the first women sportscasters on television, and is reported to be the only female high school football referee in the state of Arizona. But her story doesn’t stop there. From breaking barriers in sports broadcasting to shaping young minds in the classroom and becoming a foster mom, Ann’s story is all heart and hustle. Listen now!
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In this episode, we dive into:
- The Journey of a Trailblazer: How Anne paved the way for women in sports broadcasting
- Curiosity as a Superpower: Why staying curious leads to growth, at any stage of life
- Lessons from the Field: The surprising life skills sports teach us
Women in Sports: What’s changed—and what still needs to - Teaching & Transformation: How a shift to education gave Anne a new purpose
- Life’s Twists & Turns: The beauty of embracing the unexpected
- Storytelling with Heart: Anne’s passion for uncovering hidden histories through fiction
Quotations:
”I defend New Jersey all the time. I grew up in woods and streams and brooks and nature. And it was New Jersey. And nobody believes me. So I will defend New Jersey till I’m dead.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“I got the curiosity gene, and I’m so grateful because curiosity makes life so fascinating. You know, I wanted no answers to everything all the time, and I wanted to try new things and do new things.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“If I wasn’t curious about things, I’d be bored to tears.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“I had this little light bulb go off in my head that there are other teams on campus. There’s wrestling and archery and hockey and swimming and gymnastics, and no one ever pays attention to all these teams. I interviewed them. They were thrilled.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“I didn’t retire from officiating till 2019. I officiated for 40 years. I don’t miss TV; I don’t miss teaching, but I miss Friday night football. I really do.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“Even 40 years later, some men wouldn’t work with me. Some coaches wouldn’t have me on their field. But there were plenty of people who would.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“I am not impressed necessarily with a kid who catches the touchdown pass that wins the state championship. I’m impressed with a kid who drops that ball and then ends up back at practice early to get better. That’s the kid I hire. We don’t learn anything from success. We learn from failure. Let’s let the kids go out there and fail.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“I think as adults, we forget to keep trying new things. I think that’s very sad because life offers us a whole bunch of opportunities and we get stuck in our ways.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“When I first became a teacher, I thought, I’ll get right back into TV. And one year went by, and two years went by, 20 years went by. And by then I didn’t care about TV anymore. And it’s funny, you can plan your life, it never goes the way you planned.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“I think we all believe that we can dictate what our lives will look like, but we can’t.” ~ Anne Montgomery
“One of the few things I regret is the couple of years I wasted. feeling sorry for me and hiding from people. I’m like, that was so silly. And I’m grateful for the people I’ve run into that kind of casually, gently pointed me in a different direction.” ~ Anne Montgomery
Bio:
Anne Butler Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, author, and amateur sports official. Her first TV job came at WRBL-TV in Columbus, Georgia, and led to positions at WROC-TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, and ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award-winning SportsCenter. She finished her on-camera broadcasting career with a two-year stint as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery was a freelance and/or staff reporter for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces. Her novels include Your Forgotten Sons, The Castle, A Light in the Desert, Wild Horses on the Salt, The Scent of Rain, and Wolf Catcher. Montgomery taught journalism and communication skills in a Title I high school for 20 years and was an amateur sports official for four decades, a time during which she called baseball, ice hockey, soccer, and basketball games and served as a high school football referee and crew chief. Montgomery is a foster mom to three sons and a daughter. When she can, she indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, and playing her guitar. She splits her time between Phoenix, Arizona and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Guest Contact Info:
Website: https://annemontgomerywriter.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-montgomery-1b995b23/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abmontgomery/