Bismarck, St. Cloud and Monica Wagner from Madison are honored

Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League has announced that Monica Wagner of the Madison Mallards has been named the 2023 Northwoods League’s Most Valuable Team Member. In another vote by team officials, the Bismarck Larks were awarded the Promotion of the Year for their Missouri River Motorboaters alternate identity and the St. Cloud Rox were awarded the Community Program of the Year for their Project S.A.V.E. Foundation.

Monica Wagner just wrapped up her 13th season with the Mallards. She manages the Mallards Corporate Ticket Sales department, consisting of three reps, including herself. Monica’s team generated record gross sales during the 2023 season. During her historic year, she also oversaw the onboarding and training of three new Community Sales Reps. As the VP of Corporate Ticket Sales, Monica is responsible for developing and implementing new ticket sales strategies, providing continued training for all sales reps, and helping to conceptualize new stadium renovations and ticket packages each season.

The Bismarck Larks were awarded the Promotion of the Year for their alternate persona, The Missouri River Motorboaters. The Larks rebranded as the Missouri River Motorboaters for one game this past season. The temporary change was an homage to summertime, pontoons, and the longest river in the United States, the Missouri. “The Missouri River holds a special place in Bismarck’s heart as well as every other city the 2,341 miles of water passes through,” said Bismarck Larks Owner and CEO John Bollinger. “We wanted to create a brand that connected with our boat loving fans, but also fans from all over the country that love their summer times on the water.” Within four hours, merchandise was sold in all 50 states. All merchandise inventory was sold-out within the first day of the brand’s launch. Within three days, the Motorboaters brand sold more merchandise than any one year of Bismarck Larks merchandise. As of September 1, 2023, the Larks have sold, packaged, and shipped over 11,500 items globally. The Motorboaters Jersey auction on the day of the game garnered over $6,000 for the Larks Community FUNd.

For the second year in a row the St. Cloud Rox were awarded the Community Program of the Year award for their Project S.A.V.E. Foundation. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created by the Rox Baseball Club that supports youth programs throughout Central Minnesota in the areas of Sports, the Arts, Volunteerism activities, and educational initiatives. In just over three years of operations, the Rox Project S.A.V.E. Foundation has raised over $156,000 in 2023 through corporate partnership assistance, game night fundraisers, and special events. The Project S.A.V.E. Foundation is seen as one of the most unique charitable organizations in the Central Minnesota region with its reach and capability of serving more than 40 communities.

The Northwoods League is proud to recognize these most worthy award winners for the 2023 season.

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, 340 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.