From the Desk of the GM - Mar. 30, 2009

“Coming Soon to the Ballpark Near You – Part I”

I’ll be completely honest, after writing 12 blogs about various topics, I didn’t really have a topic for today’s edition. However, after soliciting some ideas from some staff members, it turned out there was actually quite a bit to write about. So, I’ve split my ramblings into two parts, one for today and one for Wednesday. Here goes:

Dave the Horn Guy, who will be performing at the July 26 game, sent us an email with a link to a personalized promo video. You will quickly see that Dave is a very humble guy that has some shyness issues. Well, maybe not. It should be a great show, make sure you’ve got your tickets for the July 26 game to see what else he has in store for us. Click on this link, then click “Open” to view the video. It’s a fairly large file (80MB), but well worth the wait for it to download.
(If you can't wait, click here to watch Dave the Horn Guy's video on YouTube)

We’ve got some great new on-field and in-stand promotions planned for this year.

A new promotion called “Our House”, sponsored by the Winnipeg Real Estate News, will feature a fan selected from the stands being interviewed by our man in the stands, Dan Chase, to find out where they are from and some other informal personal information. Those selected for the in-stand promotion will receive a $50.00 gift card from RONA Home & Garden. Oh, and the song “Our House” by Madness will accompany the new promotion.

The Quaker State race, sponsored by Magnum Oil, will move from the field to the video board at 15 selected games. The animated race will feature four batting helmets on wheels racing around the bases. Each section in the ballpark will be assigned a different helmet and will cheer it on. Someone in the winning helmet’s section will win a great prize from our good friends at Magnum Oil and Quaker State.

The Alumni Association of the University of Manitoba is sponsoring a new promotion called “Name that Alumnus”. At 15 games, one lucky fan gets to go on field, where they are asked a multiple-choice question about the province's largest university. The answer will relate to a graduate of the University of Manitoba.

One parting note... Thanks to everyone who came out to the Brian Glow Show at the Burton Cummings Theatre last Thursday. Brian put on a great show as always, and the food from Hu’s on First was spectacular, as usual.

Another parting note… Belated congrats to Paul Edmonds who was presented this year’s “Communications & Leadership” award by the Winnipeg Toastmasters Club at their 65th anniversary celebration on March 16. This follows his “Broadcaster of the Year” award presented by Ballpark Digest in October.

Next blog… Coming Soon to the Ballpark Near You – Part II

Until next time…
-- Andrew