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March 27, 2007 No. 24 Vol. 85
Today’s Program: Mark Fernandez, Sr. Vice
President/Chief Sales Officer, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Our speaker today, Mark Fernandez, plays an essential
role in the success of the Devil Rays on the local sports and
entertainment scene. Mark was named Senior Vice President/Chief Sales
Officer on December 13, 2005 and in that role, he oversees the Rays'
corporate marketing efforts, broadcast operations, and ticket and suite
sales.
Fernandez, 42, has more than 15 years of experience in professional
sports. He joined the Rays from the Arizona Diamondbacks where he served
as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Previous to that, he
spent four years as the team's Vice President of Corporate Sales. His
initial tenure with the organization was a two-year stint as the
Director of Operations in Tucson, where
he represented both the Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox in the
development and construction of
Tucson
Electric Park. Following his time in Tucson, Mark spent two
years as the Diamondbacks' Vice President of Community Affairs and
Executive Director of Arizona Diamondbacks’ Charities.
Prior to joining the Diamondbacks, Mark was Director of Marketing and
Booking for the America West Arena/Phoenix Suns organization.
A Tampa
native, Mark attended Chamberlain
High School and the University of South Florida. He currently sits on the
Board of Directors for the
United Way of Tampa Bay and the Board of Trustees for St.
Anthony's Hospital. Mark and his wife Trudie have three children, Grace,
Jamie and Eden. Welcome, Mark! We look forward to getting the inside
scoop on the business of baseball.
Last Week At Kiwanis
Timothy T. Ramsberger, Vice President and General
Manager, Andrettii Green Promotions, LLC Honda Grand Prix of
St. Petersburg
Tim Ramsberger brought with him T. E. McHale, Manager
of Motorsports and Public Relations from American Honda Motor Company.
Tim praised Honda Corporation’s sponsorship of the Grand Prix and
involvement and gave us an overview of the upcoming three day event. He
showed two short videos featuring cars, race car drivers and some fast
track action and answered questions from our Club. Some highlights of
Ramsberger’s talk include some ‘firsts.’ The third annual Honda Grand
Prix of
St. Petersburg,
scheduled for March 30 through April 1, 2007, will be part of the 2007
American Le Mans Series schedule. ALMS will bring a world-class roster
of sports car manufacturers and drivers to St. Petersburg, and offer
a unique and exciting element to the event. The two-hour, 45-minute ALMS
event will be run on Saturday, March 31, on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn course
in the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, one day before the IndyCar
Series takes center stage at the Honda Grand Prix. The Indy Pro Series
will also be part of the racing action. The American Le Mans Series,
founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Don Panoz, features four classes of cars
competing head-to-head. Audi, Porsche, Lola, Corvette and Acura headline
the list of competing manufacturers, promising exciting racing and
establishing its place on the world racing calendar.
Another first is the “open grid pit lane” where
spectators can walk on and go right up to the race cars. All the
hospitality suites and rooftop hospitality sections have tripled in
their bookings and RV Club and Yacht Club participation is at an
all-time high. There will be flight shows, a ferris wheel and a concert
featuring popular rock group Yellowcard. There will also be a
demonstration of ‘drifting’ where fast and furious cars on high rubber
tires create a lot of smoke on the turns.
Ramsberger said drivers love the race here,
preferring the course and sharp corners to anything else outside of the
Indy 500. He explained how the track is laid; currently 20 million
pounds of block concrete or 44,000 feet of track is going down right
now. When asked about the financial incentives to St. Pete, Ramsberger
said that a former survey says that the race results in more than $10
million in revenue for our city, but he thinks that now that figure
will be closer to $20 million. For more information about the Honda St.
Petersburg Grand Prix, go to
www.gpstpete.com. For more information about the Grand Prix's Title
Sponsor, American Honda Motor Corporation, go to
www.honda.com. And check out the event sponsors in Last Week's Quiz.
Last Week at Kiwanis
Guests and Visitors
In addition to our speaker, seven guests joined us
Tuesday and 63 members. Four of those guests, Jim Dusil, Ray Hoenusy,
Bill Cleary and Larry Thayer visited from the Pinellas Park Kiwanis
Club. Eunice Harris came all the way from
Cambria Heights, NY for lunch and Louis Murphy brought Greg
Holland. Visit us any time and consider making the arrangement permanent
by joining our Club!
Great Chefs A Great Success
Kathy Condon reported that the
Great Chefs event raised about $100,000 for Family Resources to help
children in our local community. Thanks go out to the many Kiwanians
who helped out on that day. Your willingness to volunteer translated
into much-needed assistance to kids!
Our Youngest And Newest Member
Dennis Sitarovitch received his temporary badge and
apron last Tuesday. Make sure to sign it and help him on his way to
full member status!
Club Elections
The annual election of offi cers and directors will be held on
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 at the club’s annual meeting. We will be
electing a president, president-elect, two vice presidents, and three
directors. The only candidate for president will be our current
president-elect Markus Mittermayr. The nomination forms will be on the
tables at our meetings through April 10th. Please indicate members that
you would like to have nominated by the nominating committee. The
members most frequently named will be considered fi rst by the
committee. Your input is very important. Please return the form to
Charles Stuart or mail to P.O. Box 12686, SP 33733.
What’s Happening?
Jim Fisher Annual Birthday Bash
John Biesinger and Al
Karnavicius remind us that the annual bash is coming up
June16th at the St. Petersburg Country Club. They are in need of silent
auction items, so start talking to local restaurants, gift stores,
salons and florists now. Our Club has funded 47 scholarships through
the Jim Fisher Scholarship Fund and we want to make
even more educational opportunities available to local students in need.
Florida District Mid-Year Conference
The Florida District Mid-Year Conference is being
held in Lake
City on Friday, March 30th and Saturday,
March 31st. For more information, go to the Florida District
website.
If Banks Can Do It…
March 27th is National “Joe” Day, a
holiday for all those who don’t like their names and want to change them
to something else. Maybe “Skip” and “Biff” had the right idea!
A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at
the Ritz.
-- Humphrey
Bogart
TODAY’S QUIZ:
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Which Devil Ray player had the most runs
batted in in 2005?
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Who referred to
astrology as the "Tampa Bay Devil Rays of science?”
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Who is the
youngest
senator in the current 110th
Congress?
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Of all known forms of animals life ever
to inhabit the Earth, about what percentage still exist today?
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Long warm days...The pace of life slows...
A time for picnics and rest in the shade...
Lord, help me to rest a while in the cooling shade of your presence.
Slow down my restless heart and fill me with gentle compassion for all
your people.
Amen.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ:
1. The first underwater park in the U.S., John
Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park off Key Largo encompasses
approximately 70 nautical square miles.
2. Sponsors of the 2007 St. Petersburg Grand Prix
include: Honda, Firestone, Bright House, XMRadio, Argent, Canadian
Club, AirTran, Vonage, The Vinoy, Budweiser, Motorola, Gehl, 7- Eleven,
Forsythe, Bayfront, Danka, Seminole Hard Rock Casino, Mobile Storage
Group, Progress Energy, Grand Bohemian Hotel and Residence, One America,
The Arts Condominiums, ABC Supply Co. Inc., St. Petersburg Chamber, St.
Petersburg Times, City of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area
Convention and Visitors Bureau, IndyCar Series, American LeMans Series
and Indy Pro.
3. "March Madness" was born in Illinois. The
annual tournament of high school boys basketball teams, sponsored by the
Illinois High School Association, grew from a small invitational affair
in 1908 to a statewide institution with over 900 schools competing by
the late 1930's. Henry V. Porter, assistant executive secretary
of the Illinois High School Association, coined the phrase in 1939.
4. Sarah Caldwell was
the first woman to conduct at New York's
Metropolitan Opera House in 1976.
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