Pete Bowers By the Numbers

By the Numbers

48…number of years he worked for Bloomfield Hills School District:  1969-76 for Recreation Dept. (summer day camp counselor and director, youth soccer coach), August 9, 1976-June 30, 2017 WBFH Station Manager and Electronic Media Teacher

23…how young he was when he was hired to be the Radio Station Manager/Teacher.

362.5...number of sick/leave days in his leave day bank when he retired...basically two school years.  Twenty one years of perfect attendance without calling in sick (streak broken by appendectomy).

75...number of Fundamentals of Radio Broadcasting/Exploring Electronic Media classes he’s taught in 41 years.

330...number of WBFH Staff classes he’s taught in 41 years.

700...estimated number of Andover and Lahser sports broadcasts supervised (average 20 a year):  Varsity and JV football, Boys and Girls soccer, cross country, volleyball, Boys and Girls basketball, Boys and Girls hockey (Detroit Skating Club), wrestling, baseball, softball, and lacrosse.  Away games broadcast: Clarkston, Avondale, UD Mercy, Birmingham Seaholm and Detroit Country Day plus Andover vs. Lahser football at Pontiac Silverdome. We also did football finals games live from Ford Field and boys basketball semi-final and final live from Breslin Arena at Michigan State University in Lansing.

270...estimated number of remote broadcasts supervised (average seven a year):  Farm Ox Roast, Andover and Lahser commencements, Bowers Farm Open Barns and Corn Mazes, Bloomfield Township Open House, Nature Center (Day in the Sugarbush), Woodward Dream Cruises, Doyle Center (election night coverage), Mr. B's Restaurant, Zoup Restaurant, Bloomfield Township Public Library (art show), Hickory Grove Hickory Holiday, Eastover Ice Cream Social, Pine Lake Carnival, Costco (Teacher Appreciation Night), Way School Intersession, Andover and Lahser Preview Nights and Open Houses, Andover/Lahser Blood Drive, College Night, Lahser Float Building, Andover and Lahser Homecoming Tailgates, School Board Meetings at Lahser, and Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland).

380...estimated number of mobile sound system events supervised (average 10 a year): Bowers Farm Barn Restoration, Andover and Lahser Music at Lunch, Andover and Lahser assemblies, Biffstock concerts, World Language Week, Oakland Rhythmic Gymnastics at East Hills, Welcome Back Day Picnic, Black Student Alliance Lunch Fundraiser, Indian Cultural Assembly, Lahser Prom Preview, 8th Grade Orientation, Lahser Sr. Honors Night, BBCC Ultimate Frisbee, Recreation Family Fun Day, Hickory Holiday, Lahser Variety Show, Hickory Grove Cub Scout meetings, Battle of the Bands (Shain Park in Birmingham), Farm Activity Building, Building With Books Walk-a-thon, Heart of the Hills 5K/10K, SOS events at Lahser, Andover Class of ’71 Reunions, Wing Lake Dedication, West Hills Walk-a-thon, and Somewhere in Time Weekend (Mackinaw Island).

100...estimated dances either DJ’d or supervised:  Recreation Department Daddy Daughter Dance (20 years), Lahser Homecoming Dances, Lahser Sadie Hawkins Dances, Lahser Proms, Andover Daddy Daughter Dinner Dances (20 years), Andover Spring Fling, BHMS Fun Nights, East Hills MS Fun Nights, Andover Class of 1960 Reunion, BHMS 8th Grade Party, Jewish Community Center, Lahser All-Knight Party, and Doug Spike’s daughter’s wedding.

15...number of years he ran a Recreation Department’s Super Saturday “Be a DJ” class for elementary and middle school students on Saturday mornings.

660...number of students who were on the WBFH Staff.  274…number of Biff alumni in WBFH Alumni Facebook group managed by Pete.

14...number of students who were accepted into America’s most prestigious communications college, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY

74...number of students who have won 95 state broadcasting awards from Michigan Association of Broadcasters since 2001 (31 1st Place awards).

10...number of MABF Michigan High School Station of the Year Awards since 2001 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016) .

34...number of students who have won 58 national broadcasting awards from the John Drury High School Radio Awards national competition since 2004 (17 1st Place awards).

6...number of 1st Place, Best High School Radio Station awards from John Drury national competition since 2004 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2015).

3...number of Best Radio Station Adviser Awards received in John Drury national competition (1st in 2005 and 2011 and 2nd in 2004).

3...number of Station of the Year Awards won from the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters (1990, 1995, and 2003).  Estimated that over 100 hundred students have won over 400 performance awards from MAEB award competitions.

29...number of years he has served on the board of the MAEB, serving as president (1984-92, 2011-13), and former vice president, secretary and treasurer.

8...number of years he has served on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (elected July, 2009).

6...number of MHSAA webcasts of state finals of girls and boys basketball games at Breslin Arena and state finals of boys football at Ford Field supervised.

8…number of broadcasting conferences he was featured speaker or moderator of panel (New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Seattle, Orlando, Grand Rapids, and Lansing).

4…number of websites he serves as webmaster:  www.wbfh.fm, www.petebowers.com, www.highschoolradioday.com and Andover Class of 1971 Google website.

27...number of Spring Celebration marathon radio-a-thons broadcast for the benefit of the March of Dimes (from 24 hour to 77 hour broadcast).  27...number of March of Dimes Walk America walk-a-thons he walked in representing WBFH and the BHSD.

$60,000...estimated amount of money raised through WBFH radio-a-thons for the March of Dimes to help fight birth defects.

14...number of WBFH pledge drive marathon broadcasts supervised.

$35,000...amount of money raised in 14 pledge drives used to underwrite WBFH enhancement expenses.

5...number of years serving on the Hickory Grove Elementary PTO (Market Day Chairperson, Book Fair Chairperson, Hickory Holiday Prize Redemption Chairperson, Burger King Night/Skate Night Chairperson, Playground Improvement Committee Chairperson, and 40th Birthday Party Chairperson)

5...number of years serving as Youth Soccer coach and referee for his son’s Hickory Grove youth soccer team.

8...number of class reunions (’81,’86, ’91, ’96, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016) he has run or consulted as Andover Class of 1971 class president.

154…number of class members in Andover Class of 1971 Facebook group managed by Pete.

5…number of years he served as Cubmaster for his son’s Hickory Grove Cub Scout troop and Assistant Scoutmaster for his other son’s Eastover Boy Scout troop (went on two three-day backpack trips).

6…my Little League baseball number (same as Al Kaline)

11…my number on the Andover varsity soccer team

22/23…my number on the Andover varsity basketball team…we had a home number (even) and an away number (odd).

17…my number on the CMU soccer team

137…my number if I was drafted to serve in the military…I was never called to duty.

7, 30, 24, 29, 18, 10, 26, 31…birth days of immediate family

23…most points scored in a high school varsity basketball game (vs Lahser, we lost 65-61); 27…most points scored in a JV basketball game (vs West Bloomfield)

40…lowest golf score ever, 40 on a par 35 nine hole course called the Heathers (with Paul Sweet as witness)

2…golf trophies I won at Episcopal Church of the Advent’s annual golf outing: one trophy for Closest to the Pin and one trophy for Longest Drive.

256…most pins in one game of bowling, happened at Auburn Hills bowling alley, at kid birthday party.