Geoff Lassiter, the president of the Winston-Salem Dash, will succeed John Hopkins as president of the High-A Carolina League. The move will become effective on January 1, 2018. Hopkins has served as president of the Carolina League since 1984.
As part of the transition to Lassiter as president, the Carolina League will move its offices from Greensboro to Winston-Salem.
“John has been the face and voice of the Carolina League for 34 years. The League has prospered tremendously under his leadership, and we will greatly miss him,” Carolina League executive committee member and Frederick Keys owner Ken Young said. “On behalf of all the team owners, players and many thousands of Carolina League fans, we thank John for his decades of service and wish him well during his retirement.”
“Our board of directors met last Friday and unanimously voted for Geoff to serve as our new president,” Young added. “Geoff’s leadership of the Winston-Salem Dash has produced incredible results year after year since he began his work there in 2010. He’s the perfect fit for the Carolina League, and we enthusiastically welcome him as leader of our teams.”
Under Geoff, the Winston-Salem Dash was:
- The 2010 Baseball Digest Baseball Organization of the Year
- The fastest Class A Advanced Team to reach one million fans in a new stadium
- Averaged 300,000 fans per year for the last eight years
- Ranked first or second in attendance in Class A Advanced baseball every year for eight seasons
- Honored with the 2016 Class A Advanced Facility of the Year award by Ballpark Digest
- Named the “Best Local Sports Team” and recognized as the “Best Family Entertainment in the Winston-Salem Journal Readers’ Choice Awards from 2014-17
- Awarded the Carolina League’s nominee for the John H. Johnson Award in both 2015 and 2016
Lassiter is a 2017 graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem, was named 2016 Carolina League Executive of the Year and received the Under 40 Winston-Salem Leadership Award in 2016 and Top 40 Under 40 in the Triad in 2013. Earlier in his career, Lassiter served as assistant athletic director for marketing and special projects at Wake Forest University.
He received a BS degree in business administration and economics from Greensboro College in 1999. At Greensboro College, Lassiter served as senior class president 1998–1999 and played varsity basketball 1995–1999 (team captain 1997–1999). Geoff and his wife Kiera and their three children, Porter, Wilson and Mary Elizabeth reside in Winston-Salem.