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FANTASTIC VOYAGE - Meet the Front Office

By Tom Wylie

Story Created: Jun 30, 2011 at 11:19 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jun 30, 2011 at 11:19 PM MDT

If you’ve watched a sportscast over the last few weeks, you’ve probably seen Voyagers General Manager Kattie Swartz. She’s a Great Falls native and in her first year heading Voyager operations and she’s graced your television a few times.

But the business office at Centene stadium runs pretty deep so how about some of the other staff members?

In the midst of hard work and long hours, you can often find them shooting t-shirt cannons at each other in the office - or testing out new bratwursts for potential additions to their concessions menu. Needless to say, they keep things pretty loose.

It’s all part of the top-down philosophy that promotes a fun work environment.

“If your fans are having a good time, you better be having a good time as well,” said first year sales director Scott Reasoner.

“It’s a lot of hours and lot of work especially during the summer time and it’s important to have fun while you’re doing it.”

The front office staff is small, but active – with duties ranging from ticket sales to updating the “Next Home Game” countdown sign up the street on River Road. During the summer there’s nary a dull moment.

“The day might start out slow with not a lot of phone calls,” explains Erik Wolf, an intern who serves as the business account coordinator. “But then all of a sudden, the phone’s ringing off the hook. People booking picnics, birthday parties, or just wanting season tickets.”

And when people want tickets, it’s time for ticket coordinating intern Ryan Berra to snap into action. Among his duties, he prints and scans every ticket that passes through the system; sometimes upwards of 3000 per game. And yes, Ryan IS related to THAT Berra.

“We’re distantly related,” Ryan says of Yogi. “He and my grandpa grew up in St. Louis together, so they were pretty close. But (Yogi) has no idea who I am.”

And like most guys in minor league baseball where a good percentage of general managers have served time as a team mascot, these guys do just about everything.

“I mean, you kind of have to do it all,” said Reasoner. “You could be cleaning up spills one day, working the deep fryer the next. Every days a little different in minor league baseball.”

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