In 2015, Kennedy’s Athletics Department’s most recognizable voice began his journey at the Iowa Hall of Pride Challenge games. From there he expanded to some of Kennedy’s activities and has since become one of the most frequent announcers of Kennedy sports. Glen Wiebel changed the sound of Kennedy forever.

Before coming to Kennedy, Wiebel directed the Junior Cougar Boys’ Basketball Program for nine years and was involved with the basketball parent support group at Kennedy after his son started playing in high school. 

“In 2015, we needed someone to announce the Iowa Hall of Pride Challenge Games since our regular announcer Rich Patterson was out of town,” Wiebel said.

Wiebel volunteered to step up and announce the Challenge Games and enjoyed the atmosphere of the games. He continued to fill in at Kennedy whenever it was needed. Eventually, he decided to get certified by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers so he could start announcing at Kennedy more frequently. 

“I have branched out to include football, volleyball, basketball, swimming and diving and track and field at Kennedy,” Wiebel said.

In recent years, he has started announcing at the college level and was the PA announcer for the Cedar Rapids Kernels during their 2022 season.

Since he started, Wiebel has announced a variety of sports, but his favorites are basketball and volleyball for their fast-paced along with the connections he can make with players and parents.

“My favorite part of announcing would be the starting lineups,” Wiebel said. “Since my last name is often mispronounced, I make it a personal mission to get the athletes’ names right.”

One of the most important parts of Wiebel’s job is making all athletes feel welcomed and recognized. He has a conversation with all coaches and players to make sure that he’s able to pronounce names accurately. 

“One of the best feelings is to have a visiting player or parent come up to me after the game and thank me for saying their name correctly,” Wiebel said.