Gator Country

The Gator Country Team

Welcome to Gator Country - The Insider Authority on Gator Sports!

Gator Country, founded in 1996, has always put together a top-notch staff to bring you unparalleled coverage not matched anywhere!  We are also the only Gator media outlet 100% owned and operated by Florida Gators! Here’s our “Dream” team:

Management:

Raymond Hines III - Founder/Chief Executive Officer

Back when I was a wee one I had to decide if I wanted to live dangerously and become a computer hacker or start a website devoted to the Gators. I chose the Gators instead of the daily thrill of knowing my next meal might be at Leavenworth. No regrets, however. The Gators have been and will continue to be my addiction. What makes this so much fun is that the more addicted I become to the Florida Gators, the more fun I have doing innovative things to help bring all the Gator news that is news (and some that isn’t) to Gator fans around the world. Andy Warhol said we all have our 15 minutes of fame. Thanks to Gator Country, I’m working on a half hour. Thanks to an understanding wife and a daughter that can’t decide if she’s going to be the female version of Einstein, Miss Universe, President of the United States or a princess, I get to spend my days doing what I’ve done since Gus Garcia and I founded Gator Country back in 1996. Has it really been over a decade and a half now? You can find me on the message boards as “Solari”.  P.S. That’s my lovely daughter, Alyssa, you see in the picture with me. :)

Bernadette King - Chief Operating Officer

In my senior year at Dunnellon High School, I entered a drawing and won Roger Sibbald’s Florida Gator football jersey. That was 1983 but I’ve heard it said folks in the area can still hear my screams. Grabbing my diploma with one hand and waving goodbye with the other, I jetted for New York right after high school. Over the next two decades I wore that jersey till it was in tatters. From NYC it was on to Houston, then Los Angeles. A career in the entertainment business segued into a career in SEO, branding and marketing for the Internet, which is how I landed at Gator Country. Much as I loved living and working all over the country, Roger’s jersey was a wearable time machine. Slipping it on was always a guarantee I was making a trip home; even if only in my head and only for a little while.
Putting on my Gator Country shirt makes me feel the same way. Only this time, it’s not just in my head! If I can do anything to make you feel more at home here on our site, please let me know. After all, as the saying goes, “There’s no place like Gator Country.”

Raymond Hines, Jr. - Chief Financial Officer

What do you get when you cross a University of Florida Alumni with 42 years of experience as stockbroker, financial analyst, and mutual fund manager? One of the best CFO’s in the business, of course! Graduating in 1964 (BSBA) Raymond Hines, Sr. has spent the last 29 years as an independent investment adviser, specializing in financial modeling , quantitative analysis, and managing private client accounts. A former weekly commentator for “Financial News Network” (CNBC) and Timer Digest’s “1993 Timer of the Year”, Ray Sr. has been published in Barron’s Magazine several times where he was labeled “A full-blown statistical junkie.” After that many years of crunching numbers, one might think Ray Sr. would want to slow down a bit. No way. He came on-board as CFO at Gator Country as a labor of two loves. One, so he can work with his son Raymond Hines III. Two, so he can work with all things Gator Sports.  On certain days, there’s just no telling which of those two loves takes the number one spot in his heart!

STAFF:

Thomas Goldkamp - Staff Analyst/Reporter

Thomas Goldkamp first started as a reporter at St. Paul’s High School just outside of New Orleans, La. With Friday night football invading every aspect of Louisiana living, Thomas developed an affinity for the sport - and writing about it - at a young age. After working as a sports reporter for the school newspaper and magazine, he became editor in his senior year. He graduated from high school in 2007 and enrolled at the University of Florida in the fall that year. After spending two years as a double-major in electrical engineering and Spanish, he switched to journalism in the spring of 2009 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. During his time in college, he worked as an intern covering the Florida Gators football and basketball teams for the Rivals.com team site in Gainesville. Thomas, a former National Merit Finalist, worked for Rivals.com for a year and a half and also contributed as a freelancer for the Palm Beach Post before taking a job with Gator Country in February 2011.

Mike Capshaw - Managing Editor

Mike Capshaw brings a wealth of experience to the Gator Country team. He is overseeing all editorial aspects of GatorCountry.com and Gator Country magazine by managing our team of staffers, interns and freelancers. Mike’s 14-plus years in the business has included more than six years of covering SEC sports and recruiting at a daily newspaper in Arkansas. He has also helped launch a newspaper, magazines, websites and even a sports talk radio show. Because Mike puts family ahead of his career, he left the place where he was established when his wife received an opportunity to further her career at UF. He took a leap of faith that he could find a job in the Gainesville area and worked for a year at a newspaper group before joining the Gator Country family in November.

Andrew Spivey - Recruiting Reporter

Justin Wells - Recruiting Reporter

Adam Pincus - Reporter

Adam Pincus always knew that he wanted to be involved in journalism one way or another. His math and science inefficiencies helped him realize that writing might be something to pursue. As a first year journalism and political science major at the University of Florida, Adam has a keen interest in reporting the news. Ever since he can remember, sports have been a major part of his life. Although his baseball talent peaked at the age of seven, he played high school baseball in addition to serving as Editor-in-chief of his newspaper at Miami Palmetto Senior High. A defensive specialist in left field, Adam is looking to now report on the athletes instead of being one.  He also is a published writer. He was a contributing writer to his community newspaper “The Pinecrest Tribune” for three years. His monthly column focused on teen issues. He serves the UF campus as well. He is a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and a frequent customer of the Taco Bell in the student union.  For the future, Adam is looking to further his coverage of Florida Gator athletics and perhaps find a journalism job if they even still exist. In his spare time, Adam enjoys reading TIME Magazine and sports commentary blogs such as Deadspin.com. He also spends his days in his fraternity house studying. When he is not studying in his fraternity house, he is covering Gator athletics and updating his twitter. You can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/adamDpincus.

REPORTERS:

Samantha Montero

Samantha likes long walks on the beach. Preferably on nights with a crescent moon and a light breeze that tantalizes the skin. But for real though, Samantha is a sports fiend. She had dabbled in everything from swimming to rugby, with a specialization in pole vaulting. Now a junior at UF, Samantha dreams of becoming a producer for Saturday Night Live in New York City. As of now she has interned with Village Films, a film company in Miami, Florida, her hometown. That’s where her affinity for long walks on the beach springs from. Anyhow, as an intern for Gator Country, Samantha wants to rock the readers with impressive video footage of their favorite players and thrilling event coverage.

Gator Country Multimedia, Inc.

Our website was built and designed by the folks behind Hines Corporation and is operated & owned by Gator Country Multimedia, Inc.—the only media business 100% owned and operated by Florida Gators!