COVINGTON, Ga. — When Bria Janelle came to Newton High School four years ago to become the school’s public address announcer for the Rams’ boys and girls basketball teams, she wasn’t doing it as a way of trying to break into the business.
Though a woman PA announcer in sports is almost unheard of — both Janelle and Newton athletic director Vincent Byams say she’s the only known woman PA announcer for high school sports in Georgia — the 33-year old former college basketball player and Greater Atlanta Christian graduate is hardly new to this.
Her 10-plus year career as a public announcer has placed her voice into some of sports’ biggest stages. She’s served as the in-arena host for USA Basketball, the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic games just to name a few.
She’s been on tour with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), she’s hyped crowds at the Atlanta Entertainment Basketball League (AEBL) and at some of the biggest, most star-studded AAU platforms in the country.
So with a resume like that, why Covington? Why Newton High School?
Turns out, Janelle has a bit of an affinity to the Covington/Newton County area, and she’s no stranger to Newton Rams basketball or Byams.
“I’ve known Vincent Byams for years,” Janelle said. “And my cousin Todd Hoskins used to play basketball here at Newton. One of my close AAU teammates, Brittany Carter played at the old Newton. So I’ve just had Newton ties, I fell in love with the school and the people, and I just really felt strongly that I wanted to create an impact and leave a legacy here.”
When Byams tabbed her to be the school’s basketball PA announcer four years ago, he did it knowing full well what she could bring, even as he desired to shift the culture and vibe of Newton’s game-time environments.
“We’ve had that conversation before of changing the atmosphere for basketball and football games,” Byams said. “We were fortunate to have someone like Bill Dolan announcing our games for years, and he still occasionally comes and does our baseball games. But when he said he was moving on with (former boys basketball coach Rick Rasmussen), I already had someone in mind.”
That someone was Janelle. And not just because of her prowess behind the mic at game time. Also, and perhaps even more so, for her desire to impact communities and kids — particularly young ladies — who aspire to see a trailblazer who looks like them excel in a field that often does feel like it’s for them.
“Given that she’s a female PA announcer in a male dominated field, I knew that was the case, but it didn’t matter to me that it’s a male dominated field,” Byams said. “She has the ‘it’ factor. It was an easy fit. She knows how to command the crowd. You put the right DJ with her, and it’s great. She’s a positive influence and someone that our female athletes and students can see and desire to emulate.”
Janelle’s trailblazing pedigree
Being a trendsetter is nothing new for Janelle. In fact, it’s in her bloodlines.
Janelle’s grandfather Ron Townsend is the first African American to gain membership into the Augusta National Golf Club. Townsend received his green jacket back in 1990, and though she was really young when it happened, the power of his achievements wasn’t lost on her.
“He’s very instrumental in why I do what I do,” Janelle said. “Beyond getting his green jacket, he also started in the mail room and then worked his way up until he retired as president of Gannett Television. Seeing him do all this at four and five years old, I didn’t understand the concepts, but I did learn the principles, and him passing that baton to me in media, so to speak, it’s like the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”
Janelle points to a plethora of influencers for her career — names like the late Stuart Scott of ESPN fame, the late Craig Sager who became a mainstay on the NBA scene as a sideline reporter, and Jemelle Hill, formerly of ESPN and now with The Atlantic.
“With Stuart Scott, I loved what he brought to the game from how he implemented hip hop culture into sports,” she said. “Craig Sager brought a unique style to the game of basketball and what he did as a reporter. Jemelle Hill’s made a career of this by growing into herself and creating her own personality.”
Janelle says she was also “blessed and fortunate” to be mentored by famed poet and Civil Rights activist Maya Angelou.
“One thing she told me is that my voice would have the ability to change nations,” Janelle said.
That part of her life began to take shape after she was injured playing basketball for Morris Hill University on Thanksgiving Day. She decided then that she’d quit basketball. She transferred to Georgia Southern and started using her voice on campus and local radio stations.
“And 10, 11 years later, I’m still standing and doing what I love to do,” she said.
‘Beyond just basketball’
Janelle’s work regularly puts her in front of some of the world’s biggest sports and entertainment stars. And while that’s enough to make most want to follow her footsteps, it’s much bigger than the star power for her. Her desire to use her gifts to make communities of young people better isn’t just fluff speech.
“I recently talked to a pastor in the community who also works at a funeral home, and he told me that there are probably two to three young men a week that are being murdered in and around the area,” she said. “That was an alarming statistic for me. But it represents my passion. Young people deserve to grow old and be happy. And so, yes, I have the opportunity to change the world, but I also wanted to bring the community and our high schools together. Before you affect the world, it’s gotta start in the community. It’s beyond just basketball.”
That’s why Janelle created the Bria Janelle foundation. It allows her to parlay her sports world influence to grasp the attention of young people, hopefully inspiring them toward activities that keep them out of trouble and spur them on to greatness that they, perhaps, never considered.
Byams says that part of Janelle’s character was just as important as her ability to hype up a crowd.
“When she came, it was right on time,” Byams said. “I had been thinking of something else to bring our community into a more positive light. A lot of things are going on around us, and I’m not naive about the perspectives some have of our school and students and how we’re sometimes viewed in a negative light.”
Cue Janelle’s influence to bring a Midnight Madness style community event to Newton to kick off the basketball season. Janelle used her connections to bring NBA star Dwight Howard to the school for the event. And that event was punctuated by Newton guard Jabez Jenkins dunking over the 6-foot-11 Howard during the night’s dunk contest.
These kinds of events are popular in Metro Atlanta schools with huge basketball followings. Both Janelle and Byams saw no reason why it couldn’t work in Covington.
“Our boys team is nationally ranked. That energy is here,” Janelle said. “So I thought, ‘why not do a community weekend with a Thursday Midnight Madness kind of event to start off a community weekend that shows that we can do fun things here in a safe environment.’”
Said Byams: “Though she’s nationally known and known throughout the Metro, she sees the same kind of life and energy in our kids in Covington, but they don’t have the same exposure. Let’s bridge that gap and show that we’re able to do different events and positive events at our school that bring people together.”
Janelle’s foundation also used Giving Tuesday — a November initiative that invites people to donate to nonprofits and charitable organizations — to initiate a $15,000 fundraising goal, with the money raised going toward things the school’s basketball programs can use.
But now that such work has begun and the kids are excited, it’s time, she says, for the Covington and Newton County community to follow suit.
“We put together a non-violent weekend where kids can come out and support each other in stead of fight each other,” she said. “Great. But we didn’t have as much of the community involved as we should. You sit down and talk with those who make decisions in the community and they talk about kids are killing each other, but those same people need to be ready to bring community support when we do things that benefit our kids.
“When kids have things to do in their community, they’re less likely to commit crimes, violent acts and shoot each other. But we need the community’s help to make these things happen.”
The next Bria Janelle?
There’s definitely been a growing sense of community at Newton’s basketball games in the four years since Janelle has been there, Byams says.
Byams said Janelle’s presence has helped enhance Newton’s student section during games, giving the Rams what he believes is an unparalleled home court advantage in the area.
“She’s helped our students understand when to cheer, when to get loud and just how to really make their presence felt,” Byams said.
Beyond that, she’s also finding ways to get interactive with the crowd. During time outs, she’s mixing with the audience, working in songs from the DJ that bridges generational gaps and gets people, young and old, into a party-like atmosphere.
“When you’re able to mix music from old school artists like Frankie Beverly and Maze, songs like ‘Poison’ from Bell Bive Devoe — music that the kids, the kids’ parents and the parents’ parents can all vibe to, it just brings a flavor to the game beyond just the product on the court. It adds more of an entertainment value,” Byams said.
Hopefully, Byams says, it’ll also continue bringing more people to games and getting them hooked on the excitement that Janelle’s presence brings — even, perhaps, inspiring a young student to want to follow in her footsteps.
“The goal is, as she comes in and gets more involved in the building, I would love for her to start sharing some of those skill sets that she brings that inspires the next Bria Janelle, or the next great male PA announcer to come out of Newton,” Byams said.
That goes perfectly in line with Janelle’s own aspirations.
“My biggest reason I do what I do, I didn’t see who I wanted to become in this industry, so I became her,” she said. “There’s no woman who does what I do, and so I want to be able to show others an example of how it can be done. But also, I define success as us building a community so supportive of their high school that there’s a waiting list to get in here and partner with what we’re doing.
“I want to see this gym filled with banners of companies, brands and businesses — so many banners around the gym that it looks like NASCAR. I want to see kids at a 100% graduate rate, going on to be successful. All new, updated facilities for the program. Really, until that’s done, I’m not finished here. And even when it’s done, my foundation still wants to be here to give Newton County, Covington and this community’s kids something they’ve never experienced.”
