Gaarder takes pride in Rapid Elite

MARYVILLE — On a regular basis, a customer will come into Matt Gaarder’s Rapid Elite business in downtown Maryville and buy an ink cartridge. The transaction should take no more than a couple of minutes. Twenty-five minutes later, Gaarder is still talking to the customer.

As important as ink is to most people in this digital world of computers and print machines, it doesn’t warrant a long conversation. Of course, Gaarder is not just talking about ink.

For Gaarder, the interaction with customers allows him to immerse himself in two things he is passionate about in his work world: Rapid Elite and Bearcat athletics.

Since the time Gaarder arrived at Northwest Missouri State from the Nebraska panhandle as a student in 1993, he has been deeply involved in Bearcat athletics.

“The first thing I did was running the board for football and basketball for the radio station in town,” Gaarder said.

From that behind the scene experience, Gaarder moved to sideline reporter for the Bearcat Radio Network. After he graduated in 1997, he worked for two years in Nebraska before returning to Maryville for good.

With each passing year, Gaarder immersed himself more and more into Northwest athletics and the Maryville community. His voice, along with play by play announcer John Coffey is heard for nearly all of Northwest football and men’s and women’s basketball games on KXCV-KRNW.

Well, there will be a slight change this fall and that will likely increase even more conversations at Rapid Elite. For the 2016 football season, Gaarder will be the PA announcer at Bearcat Stadium.

It will be Gaarder’s voice you hear calling first downs or a Kevin Berg interception or a Shawn Bane Jr. 90-yard touchdown reception.

“You have to take a step back to realize what kind of an honor it is,” Gaarder said.

Gaarder has a true appreciation for what Northwest football team has accomplished in the last two decades. When he first started at Northwest, he witnessed one year when the Bearcats lost every game.

Since that dismal year, Northwest has won five national championships. In just the last three seasons, the Bearcats are 40-2 with two national titles.

Through all that success, Gaarder has done color commentary on the Bearcat Radio Network in a professional manner that fans enjoy and coaches appreciate.

When the job for the PA announcer opened up, Northwest athletic director Mel Tjeerdsma knew Gaarder was the logical choice.

“He was my target,” Tjeerdsma said. “We got it cleared with Bearcat radio. They were willing to accommodate. I just think it will add a lot because we will have continuity and stability in our PA announcer.

“Matt is an alum. He is a diehard Bearcat. He has a real passion for our athletic teams. He wants them to be successful. He will do what he can to help make a great atmosphere for our fans as well as for our players.”

Last year Gaarder got a taste of being a PA announcer for a football game when he worked the Lindenwood game on Oct. 10, which the Bearcats won 69-0. Gaarder was busy announcing a lot of touchdown plays that afternoon.

Gaarder understands the difference between calling a game on radio and being a PA announcer.

You dial it back a little more as a PA announcer,” he said. “You can’t be as detailed. You don’t have as much time with that sort of thing.”

Gaarder is seven weeks away from the first home football game of the 2016 season. The Bearcats take on Missouri Southern 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. He is trying not to think about it too much.

“You don’t plan it. You want it to flow. I am excited about it, but I am trying not to think too much about it because I want it to be fun, natural and for it to feel that way. I don’t want it to feel scripted.”