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Personnel News: Great Lakes, Delmarva

Great Lakes Loons

We have personnel news to report from the Great Lakes Loons (Low A; Midwest League) and the Delmarva Shorebirds (Low A; Sally League). 

In Great Lakes, the Loons have added six front office members and announced job title changes within their ranks.

“We’re incredibly fortunate at the Loons and Michigan Baseball Foundation to work with some extremely talented and hard-working people,” Loons President Paul Barbeau said. “When staff members take advantage of new and exciting opportunities, we are excited for them and their families.”

“So not only have we been able to bring in some new people to fill those roles, but we have also had the chance to offer growth opportunities to some current staff members and position ourselves  for long term success.”

Tony Garant joins the Loons as a Group Sales Coordinator after spending the 2014 and 2015 seasons as a ticket sales associate, and 2016 as a ticket sales apprentice. While he attended Saginaw Valley State University, Tony also was a sponsorship intern at the USTA Pro Circuit event the Dow Tennis Classic and a youth basketball intern at the Bay City YMCA.

Sam PeLong transitions into a Group Sales Coordinator role with the Loons after holding a gameday staff role for the last two seasons. Sam was previously an event coordinator for the Michigan Baseball Foundation and assisted with daily operations of the State Street Restaurant. From 1987-91, Sam also served as a specialist in the United States Army.

Alex Seder becomes the first Creative Services Manager in the Loons’ history and will be the in-house graphic designer for all of the MBF properties (Loons, ESPN 100.9-FM, State Street, MBF). Alex has done freelance design work for the past three years and also worked with Meg Fielder Events & Marketing, LLC., in Boca Raton, Fla.

Holly Snow joins the Loons as the organization’s Accounting Coordinator. Holly joins the finance team here after spending 19 years with the Dow Chemical Company. During her time at Dow, Holly worked in cost accounting.

Brad Tunney has spent the last two seasons in the ESPN 100.9-FM radio booth alongside lead Loons Play-by-Play Broadcaster Chris Vosters. Brad will be returning for a third season in an expanded role that will see him continue his duties in the radio booth, while also serving as the team’s Content Coordinator.

Carol VanWert joined the front office in the middle of the Loons championship season as the team’s Executive Assistant to the President and Founder of MBF. Carol spent 15 years with the Dow Chemical Company before joining MBF.

Along with the new additions to the Loons front office staff, the following employees have begun serving in new roles: James Cahilellis as the Director of Gameday Experience and Community Outreach, Jana Chotivkova as Chief Financial Officer, Matt DeVries as Assistant GM of Marketing and Communications, Jen Dore as Corporate Partnerships Manager, Trent Elliott as Director of Production, Tyler Kring as Director of Group Sales, Chris Mundhenk as Vice President of Business Development, Eric Ramseyer as Assistant GM of Ticket Sales and Tiffany Wardynski as Vice President of Baseball Operations and Gameday Experience.

The Shorebirds, meanwhile, are announcing two new front office members.

This is in addition to the four added in the fall of 2016.

Kathy Damato has been brought on as the Shorebirds’ Community Relations Manager. In this position she will oversee the Shorebirds community programs including; Hit the Books, Summer Reading, Sherman Appearances, Donations & Silver Sluggers. Prior to joining the team, Kathy worked for organizations including the Hartford Yard Goats, Buffalo Bills, Newark Pilots (PGCBL) and the Rochester Red Wings. A Western New York native, Damato graduated with a degree in Sport Management from St. John Fisher College. She thoroughly enjoys cheering for her favorite sports teams; the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers & Syracuse University. In her free time she enjoys hiking, swimming, volunteering & going to country music concerts.

Andrew Jewesak joins the Shorebirds as an Ticket Sales Account Executive. He will be hitting the phones selling ticket plans and group outings. Andrew will also be in charge of booking school groups for the Shorebirds’ school day games. Jewesak graduated from Johnson & Wales University, North Miami campus with a degree in Professional Sports Management. Andrew has worked in a variety of different sports atmospheres. He has done internships with the Tampa Yankees and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers Soccer Club. Most recently, Andrew worked as an Account Executive for the Jacksonville Armada Soccer Club. Before that, he worked in the ticket sales department for the Orlando Predators Arena Football team.

“With the addition of Kathy and Andrew, we are now fully staffed and ready to move full speed ahead into the 2017 season”, said Chris Bitters, General Manager. “The new individuals we have added to the staff this year will certainly help us continue to grow as an organization and better serve our fans in the community.”

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