We have personnel news to report from the Pittsfield Suns (summer collegiate; Futures Collegiate Baseball League) and the Yakima Valley Pippins (summer collegiate; West Coast League).
In Pittsfield, the Suns have promoted Brian Flagg to Assistant General Manager and have named Courtney Lewis the new Director of Ticket Sales & Marketing. Flagg has functioned as the Director of Food and Beverage and the Director of Corporate Sales for the past two years. Lewis has previously served as a full-time intern for the Suns.
“We are very excited for the promotion of Brian Flagg and the addition of Courtney Lewis. Brian has proven himself to be a dedicated leader in the Suns organization and is committed to the community,” said Suns General Manager Kristen Huss. “Courtney has constantly shown hard work and dedication to the Suns. Both will help aide in the continuation of the growth and success of the Pittsfield Suns and will help enhance the fans experience.”
Flagg began his career in baseball with the Pittsfield Suns as the Food and Beverage Director during the summer of 2014. He was quickly promoted to Director of Corporate Sales in the fall of 2015. Brian came to the Suns with over 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. Originally from North Adams, Brian currently resides in Lanesboro.
Lewis is a 2017 graduate from Albany University, with a Degree in Communications and a Minor in Psychology and Business, and will take over as the Director of Ticket Sales & Marketing. Her customer service skills and graphics background will help grow the ticket sales department.
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In Yakima Valley, it has been announced that Kevin Vallene will be the new voice of the Pippins for the 2018 season.
Vallene is currently finishing his senior year at WSU, majoring in communications and broadcasting. During his time with the Cougars, he has called a number of WSU sports for KUGR, the student-run radio station, including baseball, basketball, football, soccer and volleyball. He called the 2016 Holiday Bowl between the Cougars and the Minnesota Golden Gophers in San Diego, and has also hosted a sports radio show on the the station throughout his college career.
A Redmond, Wash., native, Vallene drove more than 3,000 miles over the course of five days to spend this past summer in Florida to broadcast Florida Collegiate Summer League games for the Winter Garden Squeeze. His favorite moment of the summer was calling the FCSL home run derby, where a Squeeze player hit a league-record 12 home runs in the first round and 14 overall in the contest.
For his work during the summer, Vallene was named Broadcast Intern of the Year by the FCSL. He found out he won the award during the league’s championship game at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Having my name called at Tropicana Field was a really cool experience for me,” he told the online news publication OrangeObserver.com. “Just to be at a Major League park and win the award was fun.”
Vallene is counting on his experience last summer to help him in his role with the Pippins in 2018.
“It was so fun being down there and experiencing the grind of broadcasting a full season of baseball,” Vallene said. “I’m really excited to join the Pippins this summer and bring the games and storylines to those who can’t make it to the ballpark.”
In addition to broadcasting all home and away games, Vallene will be the team’s media relations manager.