Leaving Minute Maid Park for one last time was a very odd feeling. When you work in sports, you really never stop working. There is this passion to help your team that is insatiable, and everyone is buzzing around trying to make the dream come alive. Early mornings, late nights, marketing meetings, buzz words, bridal shows, mascot reveals...you name it and we would be hashing out all angles of it. The access I had to such talented executives and professionals was limitless and truly taught me invaluable lessons that I will never forget.
I started out as an intern. I think normal people feel like the word "intern" means lowest person on the food chain. I viewed it as an opportunity to be a worker bee and get to know EVERYONE, so I soaked in all that I could. Sure I will pass out programs, work long hours, and log video tapes for you. Please just teach me everything you know and let me watch you for a bit. Not everyone gets to see a World Series, 18 inning game, Biggio's 3000th hit, and attend Spring Training. I knew I was lucky and that there was something about Minute Maid Park that wouldn't let me be away from that Astros star for long. Later, when I would train countless interns, I always thought about the people who gave me my opportunity and took time to teach me some of the hard lessons they had learned. Sharing my lessons and helping interns find their path was always one of my favorite work assignments.
Luckily I sold copiers for a year between my internship and going back to the team, because the outbound sales I did over that year would later be referred to from upper management as, "well if she can sell copiers, can't she sell anything?"
Being a part of the Special Events Department was like being a part of our own small business. Everyone in the organization was working on baseball, and we were working on everything going on in the ballpark BESIDES baseball. The cleaning, engineering, audiovisual, catering, marketing, ballpark entertainment, sponsorship, community...well you name it...the other departments all had a full plate with baseball and we would just add more "cherries on top" with our Special Event client events. We all did it and performed to the highest of standards. Some of the event pictures below showcase some of the amazing things we got to be a part of.
When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball."
-Willie Stargell
If you looked up from your Iphone in the morning and stopped checking your email, the most amazing thing would happen when walking into work. You would notice you worked at a ballpark. There is nothing more magical than a field with sunlight just barely hitting the grass and sprinkler heads popping up. Baseball can be very romantic. My PawPaw always said, "Get a job." I guess he never realized when he used those words he would push me to swing for the big leagues. Thank you everyone, and you know who you are, for supporting me during this former chapter and helping me travel into the new one. I realized a large part of what made me tick over these years and now the clock has a new battery.
You see, you spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out it was the other way around all the time.
-Jim Bouton
