There was a time when winning was enough. Not anymore! As an athlete, coach or sports executive, performance on and off the track, field, court or course draws fans and loses them, creates sponsorship value and wipes it out. Standout communication skills project charisma, and in turn, reaps more significant endorsements and business opportunities. Today, fans judge sports celebrities according to how they perform in competition. They judge you as a person according to how you perform with the media.


Kathleen Hessert, CSP

After nearly a decade as an award-winning television anchor, journalist and talk show host, Kathleen Hessert changed competitive arenas. She took her ability to ask tough questions and put it to work for those on the receiving end. Says Hessert, "For today's athlete, coach, or sports executive, winning isn't enough. The stakes have risen considerably, and so has the scrutiny on every aspect of their lives. Those who excel as communicators distinguish themselves from the rest."

Sports Media Challenge is a nationally-renowned speaking, training and consulting company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its clients grace the covers of magazines and are quoted regularly in national print, broadcast and Internet media. Clients have included ESPN, Nike, the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA TOUR, NASCAR, elite collegiate programs like the Universities of Notre Dame, Texas, Tennessee, Florida.

Since 1989, Kathleen has been media and speech coach for a wide variety of sports personalities ranging from Olympic gold medalists and college gridiron greats to those in the ranks of the NBA and the PGA. Race car drivers, bull riders and tennis pros are among the many who have sought her counsel in learning how to excel in the increasingly important arena of public opinion.

She is the author and voice of "Winning the Media Game: A Guide for NFL Players" and "Power Training: How to Win the Media Game," and The Coach's Communication PlayBook". She has been recognized and included in "Who's Who of Women in the World" and "Who's Who of Leading American Executives." She is the recipient of the prestigious CSP, Certified Speaking Professional designation, the highest earned designation of the National Speakers Association.

Hessert is also the founder and President of Communication Concepts, a speaking, training & consulting firm offering similar services for executives in the corporate arena and co-founder and CEO of the digital publishing company, NEWgame Communications.


Joshua Baer, Chief Technology Consultant

Recognized on the national and international scene as an online marketing guru, Josh Baer joined Sports Media Challenge as CTC in early 2005 and as a principal in the company's latest advancement and sister firm- . Recognizing the growing impact of Internet communications in the sports arena, Josh joined forces with Sports Media Challenge to lead the development and provide technical direction for the company's leading-edge Internet communication and branding service- Buzz Manager. The first of its kind dedicated solely to the sports marketplace, Buzz Manager provides reputation management and rumor control through use of a proprietary search engine for online businessn intelligence regarding sports brands and issues. The proprietary tooln combined with the best in sports public relations expertise monitors, measures and analyzes brand or issue "buzz" then accurately presents the results in time saving, easy-to-use reports for marketing and public relations needs. Josh guides all ongoing search engine and other technical development to ensure that Buzz Manager remains the leading such service in the sports marketplace.

Josh grew his email marketing solutions company, SKYLIST, from a dorm room dotcom at Carnegie Mellon University to a privately-owned, profitable company and a leader in the email space. In addition to his CEO role at SKYLIST, Josh is Co-chair of the ESPC Technology Committee, keeping his finger on the pulse of current hot topics. In his roles with ESPC and as a contributing analyst with Ferris Research, he has authored documents and whitepapers on authentication and reputation systems, as well as a testing tool for companies to test their compliance with authentication standards.

Josh currently resides in Austin, Texas with his dog, Jasmine.


Harold Kaufman, Senior Consultant

Eminently qualified as a sports public relations professional to high profile athletes, coaches and sports executives, Harold Kaufman joined ranks with Sports Media Challenge in October 2005 as a senior trainer and consultant. Kaufman spent seventeen years with the Hornets and eight as its vice president of public relations. For years he was a member of the NBA's PR Advisory Board.

During his tenure at the Hornets, Kaufman served as team spokesman, oversaw all media and public relations aspects including all sports and corporate publicity efforts involving the owners, team and organization. His other duties included the dissemination of information and publications promoting the team. He served the day-to-day needs of the local and national media by arranging interviews and facilitating coverage of the Hornets players and personnel.

Kaufman, 40, is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and was voted as runner-up for the Outstanding NBA Eastern Conference Public Relations Director award by writers and broadcasters nationwide in 1992.

Prior to joining the Hornets, the Dallas native worked in the media relations department of his hometown Mavericks from 1986-88 while earning his bachelor's degree in public relations at Southern Methodist University (1987). His two-year stay with the Mavs included the 1987-88 season in which they posted 55 victories and stretched the eventual World Champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

Kaufman began his career in pro sports as an intern for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club during the 1986 and 1987 seasons. More recently, Kaufman was a press manager for the basketball venue at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA.

Kaufman and his wife, Lisa, reside in Dallas with their two sons, Stanley (13) and Alex (10).


Dexter Bustarde, Director of New Media Strategy and Fan Engagement

Dexter Bustarde joined the Sports Media Challenge team in February of 2007 as Director of New Media Strategy and Fan Engagement, bringing with him a resume uniquely suited for his new role.

After earning his undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering from UC San Diego, Bustarde spent 5 years with Sempra Energy's information technology department. As a web developer, he designed and developed numerous web based applications, and also served as a mentor for new web developers. Bustarde's other specialty was web analytics, analyzing and streamling the company's extensive online presence. Most recently, he received his MBA in Sports Business Management from San Diego State University where he was a member of the SDSU Case Competition Team. Bustarde also has extensive experience in the blogosphere. For the last two years, he's run Gaslamp Ball, the San Diego Padres blog for Sports Blogs Nation, which was recognized by Deadspin.com as one of "Blogdom's Best". He was also instrumental behind the scenes for Every Game Counts, the official NCAA Football blog and has provided guest posts on several other notable sites including Deadspin.

His primary responsibilities at Sports Media Challenge will include the development of the Sports Blog Index, which is the first ever standard measurement to identify the top blogs across all sports and in each major sports category. The SBI aims to be a helpful tool to determine where the most passionate fans go on the Internet and which blogs carry the most weight. He'll also enhance the company's capability to offer clients word-of-mouth research and more robust fan engagement options.

Another key role for Bustarde will be to further enhance Buzz Manager, which has become a staple service of SMC. Buzz Manager is a proprietary search engine that mines, monitors and analyzes online content for marketing and PR initiatives. It also tracks and measures the online word-of-mouth and mainstream media exposure of brands in the sports market. Through a combination of proprietary technology and human analysis, we can determine a brand's awareness and perception. The service provides real-time quantitative and qualitative measurement and analysis specifically in the sports, entertainment and lifestyle markets showing at-a-glance the client's Buzz Rating and Trend Charts comparing both Fan Generated Media and mainstream media. Fan Generated Media, which consists of blogs, social networking sites, message boards, and chat rooms allows us to measure the volume, intensity and direction of influential fan sentiment.

Dex and his wife, Jessica, relocated to Charlotte in March 2007 with their cats, Kimi and Juan Pablo.