We have personnel news to report from the Hub City Hotshots (summer collegiate; Expedition League) and the Nashua Silver Knights (summer collegiate; Futures Collegiate Baseball League).
The Aberdeen, SD-based Hotshots have named Jon Hoffman as their new General Manager. Hoffman replaces Tyson Paulson, who left the Hotshots in mid-March.
Hoffman has worked in the hospitality business within the hotel industry for more than 25 years, and has also been a salesman in the wine & spirits industry for more than four years. His background includes vast experience in staff management, marketing, sales and event planning. Hoffman leaves a position as Assistant General Manager with the Best Western Ramkota Hotel & Convention Center, the Hotshots’ Official Team Hotel, to join the team.
“Mayra and I have gotten to know Jon very well over the past year and a half through our dealings with our partners at the Ramkota,” Hotshots owner Chuck Heeman said. “When the GM position with the Hotshots came open we were blessed to have Jon become available. The hotel business is not unlike the business of sports – event management, sales, food and beverage, really taking care of your guests – so Jon’s learning curve will be short, and he has a great asset in (Hotshots Assistant General Manager) Jordan Bolinger already on board to build the Hotshots brand. We are thrilled to have Jon come aboard with us and use his local connections to help build the great community asset we all work toward.”
“After meeting Chuck and Mayra a year ago and sitting down with them and realizing that they have true passion for the game of baseball, they have the same future in mind as I do,” Hoffman said. “It is truly an honor to help them along on this journey. You are not going to find another couple of people that are passionate as about this sport. To see Mayra work as hard as she does after her heart attack and quadruple bypass is truly a testament to the level of commitment she has to Aberdeen and these baseball teams.”
Hoffman has joined the team on a part-time basis as he transitions out of his position at the Best Western Ramkota and will assume full-time duties as a replacement is hired at the Ramkota.
“We are keenly aware of our great partnership with the Ramkota and don’t want to put the staff there in a bad position,” Heeman said. “Jon will be doing double duty for a short while, but at the same time he’s already been kicking into high gear at the Hotshots.”
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In Nashua, the Silver Knights have announced the hirings of General Manager David Pahucki and Operations Manager Cameron Cook.
“We have a super-talented, hard-working pair of leaders in Dave and Cam,” said Silver Knights owner John Creedon, Jr. “They have already rolled up their sleeves to polish the Silver Knights brand and carry on a winning culture that the community and families of Nashua will be proud of. Dave and Cam will be fabulous stewards of baseball at Holman Stadium.”
General Manager Dave Pahucki earned his master’s degree in sports management from Southern New Hampshire University after a five-year professional baseball career. Pahucki is a Hall of Famer and graduate of Siena College who was then drafted by the Red Sox in 2002 and went on to play for the Lowell Spinners (Short Season A; NY-Penn League) and the Portland Sea Dogs (Class AA; Eastern League). Serendipitously, Pahucki’s professional playing career ended at Holman Stadium with the independent professional Nashua Pride team, formerly of the Can-Am League. Since then, Pahucki has worked in the baseball and hospitality fields in New Hampshire and New York.
“I am excited and privileged to advance my career in the front office at the same place — Historic Holman Stadium — where my professional playing days wrapped up. I know firsthand how much baseball at Holman Stadium matters to the Nashua community. The Silver Knights will be working tirelessly to embrace and reflect back the enthusiasm and devotion our fans have to the team, ” Pahucki said.
Operations Manager Cameron Cook returns to the Silver Knights organization after having played for the back-to-back Futures League Championship squads in 2016 & 2017. He is also the all-time Futures League record holder for hits in a season with 81, set in 2017. Cook graduated from Nichols College with a business degree in sports management where he captained the baseball team for three years.
“Working now for the Silver Knights organization where I have such wonderful memories from being a player for two Championship winning summers is incredible ,” said Cook. “Already since I started in the Knights’ front office, it’s been great to reconnect with the fans and the community of Nashua. Holman Stadium is a jewel of a ballpark and an inspiring place to come to work every day. I cannot wait for more Knights baseball this summer, but I’m also excited for the year-round programming and initiatives that Dave and I have planned for the community.”