Holthus will be guest speaker at Series banquet

5-10-07

Mitch Holthus, voice of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League, will be the guest speaker at the annual Avista NAIA World Series Banquet, which will be held May 24 at the Lewiston Elks Lodge, located at 3444 Country Club Drive in Lewiston.

The banquet begins with a no-host social at 6 p.m., and the banquet will start at 7 p.m.

The banquet features the players and coaches from the 10 teams participating in the 51st annual Avista NAIA World Series on May 25-June 1 at Lewis-Clark State College’s Harris Field.

Tickets are $25 per person and space is limited. Tickets can be purchased online at the Lewiston Chamber of Commerce Web site http://www.lewistonchamber.org/ and then click on the Avista NAIA World Series logo. Tickets can also be purchased at the Chamber office, located at 111 Main St., or by calling 1-800-473-3543 or (208) 743-3531.

Holthus is entering his 13th year as the play-by-play announcer for the Chiefs and is a popular speaker. He engages the audience with a variety of topics and also will tie in his topics with the event, and geographical area, he is speaking at. He is known for his enthusiastic commentary and outrageous analogies.

Holthus’ partner in the radio booth is Super Bowl IV MVP Len Dawson. Holthus also hosts the “Minute With Mitch” television series that is viewed in five states. He also hosts the Chiefs “Gameday” television show.

Following the NFL season, Holthus is a TV announcer for college basketball. He is the top announcer for the Missouri Valley Conference and he has announced games aired on ESPN, FOX and other national networks.

During 1983-1996, Holthus was the play-by-play announcer for Kansas State University. He is a 1979 graduate of KSU with a degree in Journalism and he earned a degree in Business from KSU a year later. He has also been named the top play-by-play sportscaster in Kansas nine times by the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. As a result, he is the youngest sportscaster in Kansas history to receive every major sports casting award.

 He is the past president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. For 10 years, Holthus was also the sales manager of the Wildcat Sports Network. He currently owns his own company that features talent and marketing services.