Blue Wahoos Get Support, Empathy While Attending Winter Meetings

The recent 2019 Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego provided the Blue Wahoos a chance for idea sharing, marketing tips with peers. 
But the event also served as reminder of the special, tight-knit bond existing within the industry.
Awareness and empathy by fellow attendees for the horrific tragedy Dec. 6 at Naval Air Station-Pensacola, where three airmen were killed, eight others injured, by a lone gunman, was often expressed to the Blue Wahoos contingent.
"We got a lot of talk about what happened on the base, so that was kinda sad, but it was also special to see how the baseball community knew about it and were talking to us about it," said Anna Striano, the Blue Wahoos merchandise manager, who was attending her third Baseball Winter Meetings.
"They were saying how sad they were for our community, so that was an interesting thing that I wasn't really expecting."
Blue Wahoos vice president Donna Kirby was met by Todd "Parney" Parnell, the chief operating officer for the Richmond (Va.) Flying Squirrels and Montgomery Biscuits, who is known for his colorful outfits and engaging personality.
This time, however, Parnell was in a somber tone as he expressed his sorrow for what happened at NAS-Pensacola and how he was thinking of the Blue Wahoos.
"That was so special for him to say that," Kirby said. "And it just goes to show how many great people are in baseball and how connected everyone is."
Kirby and Striano were joined by Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith, vice president Donna Kirby, chief financial officer Amber McClure and vice president of sales Alex Sides.
The five-day event was held this year at a hotel complex in San Diego's scenic waterfront downtown area.  
Kirby, a California native, who joined the Blue Wahoos prior to their inaugural 2012 season, was the emcee of the Women in Baseball Leadership event. The Blue Wahoos have been at the forefront of hiring female front office executives.
"We have really raised our profile," she said. "That puts us on another stage, too. Just being there opens things with other teams as well.
"It was a wonderful event. You can never say no to San Diego, right? The (downtown) venue was absolutely gorgeous. I thought we had a lot of productive conversations with our teammates, so to speak, in the minor league baseball world."
During the Winter Meetings, the Blue Wahoos picked by awards from Baseball Digest for the Best New Concession Experience with the remodeled storefronts and Best New Concession Item with executive chef Travis Wilson's creation of the "Crabzilla Sandwich."
The team's brand and reputation made the Blue Wahoos staff popular when stopped for a quick conversation or during seminars.
"I can't tell you how many times I got stopped when people saw the (name tag) badge and said, 'Hey Pensacola Blue Wahoos.' The sports industry is such a small network and we're all family," Sides said. "But it really is about networking, too, and getting to know others.
"People are very aware of us and you get the feeling they know we do things the right way."
Striano said she saw a couple of her preferred vendors at the Winter Meetings Trade Show using sample artwork that the Blue Wahoos created on their convention booths.
"That was kind of neat to see," she said. "Then the trade show has hundreds of vendors who display everything new for the next season. Getting a jump on that and seeing is what is important and seeing what fun things are out there is very beneficial.
"In the morning we had workshops and breakout sessions. We covered everything from copyright law to how do a theme night. So we hit all the bases, which is really important, because theme nights and name changers nights (for team nickname) are more and more popular.
"And just getting in a room with 80 other people who have a similar job as you and sharing best practices and what worked and what didn't work, I don't think you can really put a price on that."
Kirby said the Blue Wahoos gain ideas and team marketing possibilities during workshops with representatives from minor league and major teams throughout the country.
"There is a lot of great dialogue, a lot of great sharing of ideas, wins and losses, which is always beneficial to the Blue Wahoos," she said. "It's just kinda nice to have time to spend with other leagues. You get to see what other leagues doing. You see what are some of the benefits they've got that we can implement here? 
"We got some great ideas for that, some great ideas for bring more events to the stadium and how we can make it better experience for everyone."