It’s no secret that the Northwoods League is a developmental league. In the league’s history 122 former players have played Major League Baseball. While the players get most of the fanfare and attention, the league develops staff and umpires also, leading them to successful careers in professional baseball. Two interns that came through the Eau Claire Express program, Steven Wert and Erica Ramaker, were recently hired to full-time positions with the Minnesota Twins. Wert interned with the Express during the 2011 and 2012 seasons and contributed in the stadium operations and ticket sales departments. Ramaker followed him in 2013, spending one year as a marketing intern. Both moved on from the Express program to intern with the Twins and have worked their way up to the positions they were recently appointed to.
Steven was promoted in February to Group Ticket Sales & Service Executive after spending nearly two years working his way through the Twins system. He began in the 2013 season as Ticket Sales & Services Intern with a focus on everything related to season ticket holder benefits along with assisting in preparation of all hospitality venues and sales booths at Target Field. From there, he was promoted to a part-time New Business Development Representative position. This role included just what the title suggests, which is developing new business. In the sports world, this is generally done by making cold calls and lots of them. Steven was tasked with making a minimum of 75 calls per day to generate sales leads, closing on those leads and servicing any new customers he obtained. In his new role, he will work strictly with groups visiting Target Field for a game. The main focus in this position is renewing group outings but the position calls for generating new business as well.
Erica joined the Twins intern staff for the 2014 season, filling a role of Ticket Sales & Service Game-Day Intern. She performed similar duties in her first year as Steven did in his role, taking care of season ticket holders and overseeing everything regarding benefits that were a part of their ticket package. Erica took a slightly different route after completion of her internship, spending the past several months honing her sales skills working for Tom James Company in Minneapolis. After realizing she wanted to get back into the baseball industry, she was re-hired by the Twins as a full-time New Business Development Representative. As in Steven’s previous role, Erica will have the responsibility of creating new ticket sales business for the Minnesota Twins. She will conduct campaigns to acquire new season ticket, group and suite sales.
“I couldn’t be more proud of where these two have taken their careers after they left Eau Claire,” stated Express General Manager Andy Neborak. “There’s nothing more rewarding to me than to see employees that have come through our program advance on to careers in the sports industry. These two were instrumental in our success the years they were with the Express and are the model of opportunities we hope our interns receive once they leave our program.”
If you plan to head up to a Twins game this season, contact one of the former Express interns working up there and ensure you see a familiar face when you are at Target Field. Steven Wert can be reached at StevenWert@twinsbaseball.com and Erica Ramaker can be reached at EricaRamaker@twinsbaseball.com.
The Eau Claire Express is a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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, more than 120 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.eauclaireexpress.com.