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Personnel news: Wichita, Rocky Mountain, Altoona

Rocky Mountain VibesWe have multiple staff announcements across baseball from the Wichita Wind Surge, Rocky Mountain Vibes and the Altoona Curve for the 2021 season.

Katie Woods is the new Director of Marketing and Community Engagement for the Wichita Wind Surge (Double-A Central).

A 10-year veteran of Minor League Baseball, Woods joins the Wind Surge after three seasons with the Lancaster JetHawks, where she most recently served as Assistant General Manager.  She was named California League Woman Executive of the Year in 2019. Prior to Lancaster, Katie spent seven seasons with the Everett AquaSox, where she was twice named Northwest League Female Executive of the Year. 

“We are thrilled to add someone with the experience and passion that Katie has to our team,” said Wind Surge CEO Jordan Kobritz. “She will help us bring the joy of Minor League Baseball to the entire Wichita community as the team takes the field in 2021.” 

In her role with the JetHawks, Woods oversaw an 11 percent growth in attendance from 2018 to 2019, and pushed the team’s digital and social footprints to a near 30% increase year-over-year. In addition to her oversight of the team’s marketing, promotions and in-game entertainment, Woods worked closely with corporate partners and community leaders to create non-baseball events at the ballpark in Lancaster. She was also instrumental in the team’s community outreach programs, including the team’s reading program, youth little league, and in-stadium fundraising. 

“I can’t think of anything more exciting than being a part of opening a state-of-the-art, gorgeous ballpark like Riverfront Stadium,” said Woods, “I’m looking forward to helping the Wind Surge become an integral part of the Wichita community for years to come.” 

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Chris Jones is the new President of the Rocky Mountain Vibes (Pioneer League) after the departure of the team’s former President and General Manager, Chris Phillips. Jones, originally a native of Houston, Texas, is also the President and General Manager of the Lynchburg Hillcats (Low-A East). Jones will oversee both the Hillcats and the Vibes during this transition.

Phillips is moving on to a new role with Bourbon Brothers Entertainment as their new President. Phillips has been with the Sky Sox/Vibes organization for nearly 10 years, and was promoted to the President and General Manager position in the 2018/19 offseason. He has spent 21 full seasons in Minor League Baseball, including time with the Altoona Curve and State College Spikes. Most of Phillips’ work has come in Colorado Springs, however, where he led the team’s recent re-brand in 2019. Phillips will join the charge on the ever­ growing music and entertainment industry in Colorado Springs, where he will continue to make a positive impact in the local community.

The Altoona Curve (Double-A Northeast) announced 10 new additions to their front office staff on Friday, for the upcoming 2021 baseball season.

Jon Mozes joins the Curve as Director of Communications and Broadcasting after six seasons as a member of the broadcast team for the Trenton Thunder. Mozes served as the lead voice for the 2018 Eastern League All-Star Classic and was on the call as the Thunder secured their fourth Eastern League Championship in franchise history in 2019. In addition to his role in the broadcast booth, Jon took a leadership role in the development of the team’s marketing and promotional plans, overseeing all team communications and was a member of the team’s corporate sales department.

“We are excited to welcome Jon to our staff as our Director of Communications and Broadcasting for the 2021 season,” said Curve General Manager Derek Martin.  “Jon’s familiarity with the Northeast League and wealth of experience is a great addition to our staff.  We look forward to hearing him on the air bringing the Curve games to life.”

Josh Rupeka joins the Curve in a full-time capacity as the Creative Services Assistant. Rupeka spent the last three seasons as a member of the production crew on gamedays. He attended IUP and graduated in January of 2021, with a degree in Communications Media Production. Rupeka grew up in Bedford County and attended Northern Bedford High School. 

Hollidaysburg native, Preston Shoemaker will join Mozes in the broadcast booth for the 2021 season and serve as a Sales Intern. Shoemaker has called games for Hollidaysburg High School as well as CommRadio and BTN+ for Penn State and other area high schools. He also served as a Broadcast and Communications Intern for the Curve during the summer of 2019. 

Centre Hall native Ryan Long comes to the Curve as a Concessions Assistant in 2021. Long is scheduled to graduate from The Pennsylvania State University in May of 2021 and was a member of the Sheetz Fellows program. He previously served as an intern with The Ripken Baseball Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2020.

Matt Clark comes to Altoona as the Assistant Groundskeeper. Clark is a graduate of the University of Louisville.  He served as an Operations intern for the Triple-A Louisville Bats during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Prior to that he worked on the Akron Rubberducks game day grounds crew in 2017 and 2018.

Andrew Snyder comes to Altoona for his first season in affiliated baseball as a Sales Intern. Snyder graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Sports Media from Susquehanna University. During his time at Susquehanna, he served as an Athletic Communications Assistant.  

Altoona native Madison Shetrom joins the Curve as a Sales Intern for the 2021 season. Shetrom was a member of the Le Moyne Dolphins Women’s Basketball team and a former member of the Altoona Lady Mountain Lions basketball team. She is a Communications and Marketing major at Le Moyne.  

Rebekah Grainer joins the Curve as a Sales Intern. Grainer is slated to graduate from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia with a degree in Sport and Recreation Management in May of 2021. She spent the summer of the 2019 season working in the ticket office for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. 

A future graduate of the University of Alabama, Patrick Jordan joins the Curve staff as a box office intern. Jordan brings two years of minor league baseball experience to Altoona having previously served as a Food & Beverage Operations Intern for the Rocket City Trash Pandas and as a Catering Management Intern for the Birmingham Barons.  

Jake Miller is a Bellwood, Pennsylvania native and joins the Curve as a Graphic Design Intern. He had previously interned for the Robert Morris Football team as a graphic designer. Miller is a junior at Penn State and has attended both Penn State Altoona and Penn State Berks.   

Mike Kessling has taken on an expanded role and is now the Director of Marketing, Promotions and Special Events.  The Curve are looking to add more special events to the schedule in 2021 and continue some of the successful events from 2020.  Megan Corcoran is now the Director of Creative Services.  Corcoran joined the Curve as a Creative Services Assistant in 2020.

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