By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
Badger High School 2001 graduate Megan Harrod was hired as press officer for the U.S. Alpine Ski Team and began serving in the position Oct. 1.
Harrod is the daughter of retired Badger teacher Doug Harrod.
“I deal with elite-level athletes, and I need to get something from them and get it to the media,” Harrod said. “It is not always easy.”
By elite-level athletes, Harrod is referring to names like Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso, Mikaela Schiffrin, Ted Ligety and Andrew Weibrecht.
“It is about building relationships with the athletes, coaches and media,” Harrod said. “I need to manage the calm.”
Harrod said she often finds herself doing whatever she can to keep an even environment including getting the athletes what they need, calling out times during events, and keeping the media at bay when necessary.
“They push,” Harrod said about the media. “They are only trying to get their story—it’s their job.”
Harrod said she has to be firm but respectful when dealing with the media. She said she has to deal with 150 or more people at each event.
“I am the liaison between the athletes and the media,” Harrod said. “I make sure the media tells the right story about the athletes.”
Harrod, 31, began skiing at the age of 7 and became a member of the U.S. Ski Association and the International Ski Federation. She club skied at Wilmot and competed on the ski race team at Badger. Harrod skied six days a week along with her brother, making it a family event.
Harrod skied for the Milwaukee Metro Ski Team and Mighty Mites, Team Wilmot/Alpine Valley in U.S. Ski Association and International Ski Federation competitions. She was a four-year team captain and MVP for the Badger ski race team and competed at the state and national level all four years.
Harrod skied for St. Olaf College in Minnesota, the only intercollegiate ski program in the Midwest, where she was an All-American, team captain and team MVP. She made the top 25 and the top 15 at the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association Nationals, competed for the President’s Cup, and earned a fifth-place team finish at the 2004-05 nationals.
Despite that, Harrod said she was not “elite” enough for a professional ski career, so she became a coach for Team Gilboa at the Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area in Minnesota from 2006 to 2012.
Harrod more recently worked in marketing and in a business with some partners that did not work out as she planned. She remained a co-owner of the business but moved to the Salt Lake City area looking for a new direction. She was considering freelance work in marketing or starting a new business when a friend from college sent her the job description for the press officer position.
Harrod said her ski experience made her a good candidate for the job. She said her knowledge of skiing won her credibility with the ski team members immediately.
“I value authenticity,” she said. “I love people, and I love to make them smile.”
The job is actually like two jobs in one because Harrod is the press officer for both the men’s and women’s ski teams. Often they compete on the same weekend, and Harrod must be at one event and coordinate what is going on at the other.
Harrod said she loves the high-adrenaline, fast-paced element of the job. While there are many late nights and early mornings as she lives out of a suitcase for several months, she feels privileged to be out on the ski hill interacting with a community she loves and working with elite athletes pushing their bodies to the limit.
She said dealing with the athletes can be challenging, but at the end of the day their job is ski racing. Her job is to do what she can to make that easy for them.
“I love serving others and making others look good,” she said.
Harrod said Bode Miller has been the biggest character and has earned his reputation as a renegade, but he has actually been very easy to work with. She said she recently scheduled seven interviews for him, and he made all seven without incident.
Harrod said she greatly admires Mikaela Shiffrin for her poise and elegant style of skiing at the young age of 19, the same age as Harrod’s sister.
“It is awesome to work so closely with her,” she said.
Julia Mancuso, Harrod said, is the sport’s most decorated female athlete and is a big personality. Harrod said she once put on a one-piece Wonder Woman swim suit to ski in.
“She is free-spirited and loves to have fun,” Harrod said.
Harrod said Ted Ligety is super-dynamic and focused and is revolutionizing Giant Slalom skiing.
“We have six Olympic athletes who are all different,” Harrod said.
“I love that about the team,” she said. “It reflects our culture.”
Harrod said many other teams in the sport are very uniform. This team is very individual and dynamic. While that can make Harrod’s job more difficult sometimes, she said it also makes it interesting and brings life to the sport.
The job is formally a seasonal seven-month job, but Harrod said she has no doubt she will be able to find free-lance marketing work to keep her busy in the off-season. She said she has been asked to continue in the position at least through the next Olympics. Harrod said she would love to experience the Olympics and plans to hang around for a while.
She also said since she interfaces with the media on a daily basis, other opportunities might arise, but she is not concerned about looking too far into the future just yet.
“It is amazing to be back in the industry,” she said.
“My parents probably never thought after all the money they spent on my skiing, I would end up working for the (national) team,” she said. “It is really cool to go full-circle. It really shaped me as a kid, and I feel blessed to be part of a special community.”
“Megan raced competitively for many years and the experience was great, but not without its down moments among many good moments,” said Doug Harrod.
“She was an intense competitor on the course and always wanted to excel,” he said. “She found happiness in coaching after she finished racing and stayed in contact with people she met along the way. The job suits her well with her writing, marketing, skiing and people skills.”
