Courtesy The Glouster County Times

(June 15, 2009) Brian Startare changed careers when he was 33 years old, finally fulfilling his lifelong dream of being a sports talk host and, on Friday, he came to Orchard Valley Middle School to talk to students about the importance of doing a job you love.

"There are a lot of problems with the economy and the job market right now and I'm sure many of these kids' parents are facing these issues, but I'm here to tell them they still shouldn't get caught up in the job that will make them the most money," said Startare, a 1989 Washington Township High School graduate and sports host at 610-WIP Philadelphia. "I like what I do now. I walked away from a job where I was making a lot more money to do what I always wanted to do."

Startare, a Rowan University graduate, currently hosts late night and weekend shows on WIP. He is the host of the Flyers pre-game, post-game and between-periods show and recently published his first book, "Flyer'd Up: Trivia, Facts and Anecdotes for Fans of the Orange and Black".

In 2004, while working at a collection service in New York City, Startare decided to try out for the ESPN reality show "Dream Job" where contestants tried out to be the newest SportsCenter anchor. Startare lasted six weeks on the show, coming in sixth out of 9,000 original contestants. Though he didn't get the job at ESPN, he was offered the position at WIP, and also a TV post at CN8, soon after.

"I was always doing play-by-play as a kid and I've always loved the Flyers so this is a dream job," said Startare. "You're going to spend more time at work than anywhere else, so it should be something you enjoy."

Startare invited some of the students on stage to read pieces of sports news and had others play "host" as he portrayed the "difficult caller" aspects of his job that he deals with every day.

"Really the most important thing I can tell you is that you have to make yourself available, be willing to make sacrifices and take risks," said Startare. "Don't give up on your dreams and make sure whatever you want to do with your life is what you're doing."