Fan Talk Host Chris Kelly

With 37 years of calling high school and college play-by-play sports, Chris Kelly returns as play-by-play talent for Carolinasportsnut.com. Chris went LIVE with CSN on May 11, 2011, providing prep, college, and professional sports coverage. In 2017 he launched LIVE play-by-play streaming while adding radio to the play-by-play coverage. Chris looks forward to visiting Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina stadiums this upcoming season and teaming with NEW CSN color commentator Tanner Brookshire, Producer Josh Walker, and the whole CSN Broadcast Crew. 24/7, Local and Regional updates and LIVE HS Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Softball play on Carolinasportsnut.com and the NEW CSN Sports App.

Photo -Suzanne Blankenship

Fan Talk Host Gene Blankenship

Gene began his production career during his senior year at Charles D Owen High School, as the morning DJ on WBMS 1350, in Black Mountain, NC. He attended Mars Hill College as a music major. During college, he decided to join the US Air Force and was selected to the US Air Force Presidential Honor in Washington, D.C. as a member of the elite Presidential Honor Guard Silent Drill Team. While serving in Washington, D.C., Gene was accepted to the Air Force Band, where he served as Chief Audio Engineer for High Flight and The Airmen of Note, the Premiere Jazz Ensemble of the US Air Force.

After the Air Force, Gene attended Full Sail University, then toured with Ringling Brothers Barnum Bailey Circus as Chief Audio Engineer for the Blue Unit. In 1999 he started Media in Ministry Association, a 501(c)3 production company in Orlando, FL, producing events and providing production services for live and corporate events throughout the Southeast. During his 40 years in the entertainment industry, a couple of Gene’s most notable events was providing “on-site” production support during the 60-mile 2006 Great Florida Cattle Drive, featured on the Food Network, Season 1, Episode 6 with Robert Irvine, The British Cowboy: Cattle Drive: Impossible and serving as Press Technical Coordinator with ATK AudioTek for the NFC and A-2 for Pre-Game and Half Time shows during the NFL Super Bowl 39, 40 and 41.

Since June of 2016, Gene has served as the Production Coordinator for the City of Asheville’s Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville. He has designed and helped purchase the current concert sound, lighting, video production mobile unit, and IT elements used throughout the facilities venues for concerts, professional sporting events, and hosting corporate organizations worldwide.

When not working in the entertainment business, he can be found with his family and spending time cowboy’n on the family ranch right here in Western North Carolina.