Reese Brown has been known for his very distinct voice most of his life. His dream of using his gift has finally come to life.
What is your title and job description?
I am a public affairs specialist who is also the official announcer and broadcaster for an organization within the Department of Defense. As a whole, the job primarily involves message development and message delivery. Duties include authoring and coordinating publishing for press releases, creating video and radio broadcasts, writing events scripts, officiating live events as well as print and online features. I also arrange for producers and select photographs to accompany news releases, articles, social media posts and other media releases. The manner in which my position diverts from the traditional is that I also serve as the sole broadccasting voice of the organization, officiating live and recorded programs at many high-profile events and locations such as the Pentagon.
What has been the most memorable highlight for you in this position?
One of the most memorable was a memorial event which was held at the Pentagon. The Surgeon General’s office requested me by name to officiate the program and serve as a consultant on the script. The honor of having the opportunity of lending my voice to that live broadcast will forever remain as one of my greatest professional memories.
When did you realize that your voice would serve as a means to earn money?
In the early ‘90s I was visiting a friend in Los Angeles who happened to be producing an award show at the time. He heard me read a few lines from a magazine and asked if I had ever thought about voiceover work, which was something I had never considered as a possibly, let alone an actual job. After talking more about the industry and how voiceover artists played a role, he introduced me to his neighbor whose name I did not recognize but whose voice I knew immediately, as he was the voice of Goliath from the cartoon series “Gargoyles.” From that moment, (and a hundred questions later) I was hooked.
How did you turn your distinguished voice into a career?
It truly is one of the great things about life; every experience serves as a blueprint or building block for what is to come. As a musician, syncopation, cadences, chord progressions and harmonies have always caught and held my attention. I was able to use these same principles and theories as a vocalist, then as a vocal arranger, and now as a broadcaster and voiceover artist. After taking the advice of those already in the industry regarding daily practice and many, many pro-bono gigs, my confidence increased and as a result, so did my reputation. To this day, one of the greatest compliments I can receive after leaving the microphone is having someone comment on how what they just heard made them “feel.”
What has been the biggest challenge that you have had to overcome?
Without question, changing career fields after over twenty years of being a medical clinician to the public affairs arena. As odd as that journey may sound, in hindsight it was an absolutely necessary process for me to be where I am, doing what I do today. For many years, practicing as a nurse was my priority, yet somehow this gift of using my voice “always made room for me” and provided opportunities within the medical field to speak, teach or record instructions or briefings. Once the conscious decision was made to pursue this new career field, the challenge of going back to school, gaining an entirely new skill set and taking a new job where I would most assuredly be the “new kid on the block” admittedly caused me to pause; but thankfully only for a minute. My new position allows me to create and deliver messaging to a specific patient population from the perspective of a medical professional who is able to identify their needs. I still look back in disbelief sometimes when I realize the joy I would have missed out on had I allowed fear or inactivity to cause me not to step out on faith. These days, everyday is an opportunity for me to “speak to serve.”
