{"id":28726,"date":"2017-09-18T20:45:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T20:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resource-center.hrblock.com\/?post_type=newsroom&p=28726"},"modified":"2023-03-02T12:30:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T18:30:48","slug":"meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator","status":"publish","type":"newsroom","link":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Dave Pond: sports videographer and tax translator"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Dave Pond likes to tell stories. But how he does it depends on the circumstances.<\/p>\n

At work, Pond uses words. He writes and edits content for H&R Block\u2019s online<\/a> and downloadable tax software<\/a> at its world headquarters<\/a>, where he turns tax mumbo jumbo into stuff clients can swallow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

 \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

\u201cI take technical information written by subject matter experts and make it digestible for everyday people,\u201d says the program manager for content strategy. \u201cClarity is huge. My job is to make DIY tax prep easy to understand, so clients can get through our products without having to call or chat with someone for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharing the view<\/h2>\n

On his own time, Pond communicates via video cameras.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell stories through my lens,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

To do that, Pond plods, climbs and slogs in all kinds of weather through baseball fields, football stadiums, concert arenas and more to record such events as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The 2006 Stanley Cup Final for the National Hockey League\u2019s Carolina Hurricanes<\/li>\n
  • The 2014 World Series for Fox Sports<\/li>\n
  • Current in-house productions for the Kansas City Chiefs and Sporting Kansas City, which includes game replays, product promotions, mascot antics and even marriage proposals<\/li>\n
  • Boxing, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, including Lucha Libre (professional Mexican wrestling)<\/li>\n
  • Rodeos<\/li>\n
  • Monster truck races<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Pluses and minuses<\/h2>\n

    The job has its perks. And its pitfalls.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI love being at live events,\u201d says Pond. \u201cI love the energy. I love being part of the action. And I love not paying to attend.\u201d<\/p>\n

    But a ringside seat can come with some blowback.<\/p>\n

    \u201cGuys can get hurt,\u201d says Pond.<\/p>\n

    Once, while videoing a college football game, \u201cI got crushed by a defensive back on the sidelines in the end zone,\u201d says Pond. (Pond turned out fine; so did the football player.)<\/p>\n

    \u201cAnd at basketball games, when you\u2019re sitting under a basket and big 7-foot dudes get fouled, look out. You have to be ready to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

    And then, there\u2019s the manual labor.<\/p>\n

    \u201cShooting professional events usually means working 12- or 14-hour days,\u201d says Pond. \u201cI worked a concert called Rock Fest last year, where we had to run almost a half-mile of fiber optic video cable through the woods between two stages, so concertgoers could see what was happening on both stages.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s not as simple as picking up a camera and looking through a lens.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Shared lessons<\/h2>\n

    Making something hard look easy. That happens a lot at H&R Block.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThere are similarities between what I do inside and outside the office,\u201d says Pond. \u201cIn both places, you have to be agile and adjust on the fly.\u201d<\/p>\n

    For example, last year while Pond was at work, the IRS website went down for a day.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMy content team had to quickly work with our DIY product owners to develop emails to send to clients the same day,\u201d says Pond. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want clients to think the problem was ours, or worse, go to a competitor\u2019s product. So, we assured clients we knew about the issue, and that it was not<\/em> with H&R Block.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Just like with videography, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to move quickly and go with the flow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Dave Pond likes to tell stories. But how he does it depends on the circumstances. At work, Pond uses words. He writes and edits content for H&R Block\u2019s online and downloadable tax software at its world headquarters, where he turns tax mumbo jumbo into stuff clients can swallow.    \u201cI take technical information written by subject matter experts and make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":28727,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[],"news-categories":[23376,23377],"class_list":["post-28726","newsroom","type-newsroom","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-categories-around-block","news-categories-about-us"],"acf":{"post_rest_thumbnail_alt_id":null},"yoast_head":"Meet Dave Pond: Sports videographer and tax translator | H&R Block Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet Dave Pond, an H&R Block content editor and writer who makes doing taxes yourself easy to understand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Dave Pond: sports videographer and tax translator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet Dave Pond, an H&R Block content editor and writer who makes doing taxes yourself easy to understand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond-1080x675.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/\",\"name\":\"Meet Dave Pond: Sports videographer and tax translator | H&R Block Newsroom\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-18T20:45:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-02T18:30:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Meet Dave Pond, an H&R Block content editor and writer who makes doing taxes yourself easy to understand.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond.png\",\"width\":1275,\"height\":928},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Newsroom Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Meet Dave Pond: sports videographer and tax translator\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/\",\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet Dave Pond: Sports videographer and tax translator | H&R Block Newsroom","description":"Meet Dave Pond, an H&R Block content editor and writer who makes doing taxes yourself easy to understand.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet Dave Pond: sports videographer and tax translator","og_description":"Meet Dave Pond, an H&R Block content editor and writer who makes doing taxes yourself easy to understand.","og_url":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/","og_site_name":"H&R Block","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond-1080x675.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@hrblock","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/","url":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/","name":"Meet Dave Pond: Sports videographer and tax translator | H&R Block Newsroom","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond.png","datePublished":"2017-09-18T20:45:53+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-02T18:30:48+00:00","description":"Meet Dave Pond, an H&R Block content editor and writer who makes doing taxes yourself easy to understand.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/DavePond.png","width":1275,"height":928},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/around-block\/about-us\/meet-dave-pond-sports-videographer-tax-translator\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Newsroom Articles","item":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Meet Dave Pond: sports videographer and tax translator"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/","name":"H&R Block","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsroom\/28726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsroom"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newsroom"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsroom\/28726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28726"},{"taxonomy":"news-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrbcomlnp.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-categories?post=28726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}