President Dennis Fliehman called the meeting to order at 12:30 and Michelle Lantz led the assembled Rotarians in an invocation. Patriotic singing ensued. President Fliehman invited Tim Daman to introduce our special guests for the day.
Tim Daman welcomed the alumni/past recipients of the 10 over 10 , which recognizes/identifies outstanding young professionals in our community. Started 12 years ago, they are still blown away by the number of nominations received and quality of individuals recognized via the program. It’s clear our employers continue to invest in, grow, and attract talent to our region. 120 alumni; all but 10 are still living in our region. Thanks to Michelle Lantz, Lesa Smith and Cathy Andrews for helping coordinate today’s activities. The 10 Over 10 alumni introduced themselves, which was followed by introductions of the visiting Rotarians and guests, facilitated by Brian Taylor. Sue Mills shared the health of the club is well.
NOTE: the “After Holiday Party” will be January 23rdat the Kellogg Center; free parking, free nibbles. RSVP NOW to Julie Pingston! Rotary Hero Nominations are due soon! Want to recognize a member who exemplifies Service Above Self? See Rotogram for details and nominate someone for this honor.
Jenn Dubey gave an update on INTERNATIONAL GRANTS: In the 2018-2019 grant cycle the group awarded $26K to support projects overseas. Total since 2014 is $103,622, which has funded 32 projects in 16 countries around the world. This is in addition to local grants totaling over $1Million since the creation of Rotary Foundation. These are YOUR gifts at work!
SPECIAL MUSIC: There is a “windfall of music theater” right now. Check out Anastasia at Wharton and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Riverwalk – of which two Cast Members were introduced by Ken Beachler; Ben and Sarah performed 2 lovely sections from the show.
Lesa Smith, Chair of the Month, and Tim Daman, Chair of the Day, were thanked by President Fliehman. Tim introduced Nick Grueser, President of the Lansing Lugnuts & Lansing Ignite. Nick has been with the Lugnuts for 18 years; he started in 2001 as an entry level sales rep after graduating from Wilmington College. Lives in Mason with wife Valisa (oncology nurse) and has sons RJ and Jackson. Proud to work for Tom Dixon, Club Owner from the beginning.
There’s so much going on at the Stadium - almost using that Stadium nearly every day of the year with programming that our community can enjoy. 242 Special events last year – not counting Lugnuts games) for 375,000 attendees. Nick gave credit to Malinda Barr for helping ensure a steady stream of programming in the stadium.
Lugnuts; one of most successful minor league teams in the US. They are a Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, serving up hometown fun for over 8.75 million fans in 23 years. 71 Lugnuts Games in 2018. They cater to baseball fans, yes, but it’s more about a safe, family environment. They work hard to keep up with their crazy/goofy image over the years. Tyler - Rotarian - works on the promotional schedule - thirsty Thursday, LAFCU Fireworks, etc., are standard, but last year they added a backyard baseball night, which then won them a 2018 Golden Bobblehead (like an Oscar for minor league Baseball).
Downtown revitalization – they’ve been an anchor to this, particularly the last 4-5 years, but truly jump-started things. 84 apartment units added, stadium renovated, recently upgraded the boring stuff - HVAC, carpets, etc. Added extra space, ribbon boards, larger Scoreboard, etc. The Stadium is a huge asset to our region and very special compared to many other minor league stadiums.
Always evolving – from their Lug Life campaign to the fact that all season ticket packages are now “all you can eat and drink” plans. They’ve revamped nights of the week: dollar deal Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wednesday bring your Dog Day, and are rolling out new pricing and an expanded beer menu for Thirsty Thursday. But wait, there’s more! The View is year-round catering space. In 2018: Hosted Battle for the Mitten Rugby match, BWL chili cook off, and a Holiday light show on 16 dates - will expand this for 2019. Also returning for 2019 - Capital City River Run, Crosstown Showdown, and Beerfest at the Ballpark - sold out last year w 4,000 attendees.
Next chapter - Lansing IGNITE. First professional soccer team in MI in over 39 years. Only one currently in the state. Brand new national League; USL League One. 10 teams now, grow to 24 is the vision. Ignite is one of the smaller markets in the league, which says a lot for LANSING. Watch for 14 league home matches - 28 game schedule, runs concurrently with baseball season – and up to 3 annual friendly matches, such as “Capital Cup vs MSU” and a couple others TBA that will be announced in next couple of weeks. Home opener is April 13. (Lugnuts opener is April 6). Estimated average match attendance of 4,000 fans/game. Season ticket sales going well; single game tickets go on sale in March. Individual tickets $15-22 and kids pricing, too. Nate Miller is head IGNITE coach - came over from Lansing United (League Two). Jeremy Sampson hired as GM of Ignite. United was amateur league; Ignite is Pro. Clear differences (minus confusion of people at the helm).
Community Engagement - Baseball is a farm system, makes community involvement a bit harder; they play 140 games in 5 months. Soccer is completely different. Players being signed and will be here in the next month. Players: 22-23 average age. 24-person roster. They’ll train every day play but have more flexible schedules. They want to get them OUT in the community; be the face of the franchise.
Why Soccer? Fastest growing sport in the US. Largest sport in the world. 80% of kids have played or currently play soccer. New audience; more ethnically diverse, younger fan base. 62% had a craft beer in the past 30 days. 61% of fans are 44 yrs and under. 42% have income greater than 100K. 91% have attended college. 77% of fans attended 2+ games in past year. 45% of fans are season ticket holders.
How? Convert the field. Home plate for baseball is cheapest seats for soccer - farther away. Outfield for baseball is best view for soccer. Pepsi Porch is right behind goal. Stadium barely fits minimum requirements for a field; it’s going to be awesome. 13,000 Square feet of sod required to be placed for every soccer game. Season tix start at $255. LansingLugnuts.com or LansingIgnite.com for more details and to reserve tickets.
Q&A ensued. Nick was thanked for his time; in lieu of a speaker’s gift we will donate money in his name to our Bio Sand Filter water project to provide pure water to developing communities in the Dominican Republic.
Our next meeting will be January 25, 2019 at LCC’s WEST CAMPUS, on Cornerstone Drive. Our speaker will be Scott Keith, CEO and President of LEPFA, speaking about Capital Area United Way's 100th Anniversary.
Michelle Reynaert's email is: michellereynaert@yaoo.com