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 began 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

Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

Justin Wells - Recruiting Reporter

Even though it was the Merchant Marine Academy (a Division III school) that showed Gator Country recruiting analyst Justin the most interest as a football player coming out of high school, he still caught the recruiting bug watching Chris Leak, Jarvis Moss, Andre Caldwell and Reggie Nelson commit to the Gators in the run-up to National Signing Day 2003. He’s had it ever since. Justin first joined the Gator Country family in an official capacity in September of 2008 to help head recruiting coverage for the site. A native of the central Florida region, he has had a close eye on college football in the state of Florida ever since his days growing up as a youth in the Titusville area, which has produced a few great Gators (namely Cris Collinsworth and Wilber Marshall) over the years. He currently lives in Gainesville. His hobbies include working out, going to the beach (when possible) and drinking sarsaparilla.

Adam Pincus - Staff 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.

Phillip Heilman

Phillip originally is from Presque Isle, Maine. From his time spent up north, he became a diehard Boston sports fan — Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins. Growing up, he became so accustomed to winning championships that he had to come to Gainesville — another place where teams know how to win championships. He is an aspiring journalist who is especially interested in politics and law. In the future, Phillip may be writing about your favorite athlete, or he could be suing them.

Drew Laing

Drew Laing is a junior at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Before college, Drew lived in Lakeland, Fla., his entire life. He began in journalism during his senior year of high school and has continued studying it throughout college. In addition to his internship at Gator Country, he is the Editor-In-Chief of The Samford Crimson and a collegiate correspondent for USA Today. Drew enjoys the finer things in life like Tampa Bay Rays baseball and PB&J sandwiches.

Max Mattern

Max graduated from Bloomingdale High School in 2011 and enrolled at University of Florida that fall. No one his family has ever gone to UF or been a Gators fan, but now he is on the sidelines covering multiple sports and writing stories for Gator Country. Max began college planning to major in computer engineering. However, after a week of classes, he knew it wasn’t his passion, so now he is freshman planning to major in journalism.

Thomas Morrell

Thomas has always enjoyed writing. As for the exact kind of writing, or where he would write, that is another story entirely. Thomas is currently a senior at the University of Florida and looking forward to graduating in May 2012 with a degree in Journalism. He has been interning with Gator Country since September of 2011 and is currently editing online content for the website. Thomas has always been interested in writing about the “behind-the-scenes” material the average fan wouldn’t know. There’s nothing better than finding something that’s “out there” and having the freedom to write the story in any manner you feel. For Thomas, the future is relatively unknown and he likes it that way.  He knows he wants to write and he knows what he loves to do. That is really the only current path for this 22-year-old student.

Elizabeth Rhodes

Elizabeth Rhodes is a sophomore at the University of Florida majoring in Telecommunications and hopes to one day be working at ESPN. She loves all sports but has a particular fiend for college basketball, loving and always looking forward to the NCAA March Madness. She hopes to make her way to Chicago one day because she loves the city and cold weather up north. As an intern for Gator Country, Elizabeth really wants to impress readers with her writing as she covers sports and writes features on the incredible athletes at UF. Thus far, she also has completed an internship at Waterman Broadcasting in her hometown of Fort Myers, Fla.

Darby Underwood

Darby is a senior Telecommunications major at the University of Florida. She also worked as a reporter at Florida’s 89.1 and WUFT-TV while attending UF. She grew up in the small town of Lake Placid, which is known for its caladiums, murals, and population of old people. This is where she found her love of sports. She grew up playing little league baseball and was always the only girl on her team. With graduation approaching, she hopes to land a job in the sports field. Besides sports, Darby loves summertime. Going to the Keys to fish and scuba diving are her favorite things to do. She also loves visiting Vermont during the winter to go snowboarding. Although traveling is a big passion of hers, she enjoys being home to spend time on the lake, go four-wheeling and ride around in trucks.

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