Sweets Partner with College Place High School Students to Manager a 2016 Regular Season Game
April 25, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Walla Walla Sweets News Release
Walla Walla, Wash. - What began as a friendly conversation following participation in the Valley's "Pitch IT!" competition last November during International Entrepreneurship Week, has blossomed into a Project Based Learning experience, with the Walla Walla Sweets team executives and the 10th grade Entrepreneurship class at College Place High School. The Sweets staff along with students and Mr. Scott Reardon are creating, producing and managing a regular-season Sweets game at Borleske Stadium on July 11, 2016. The students are responsible for developing the theme, the marketing channels, the sales efforts, the game scripts, and will work hand-in-hand with the baseball club to operate the game live at the historic venue in Walla Walla.
"Scott and I have been friends for years, and we've always floated an idea like this around," said Sweets president Zachary Fraser. "After we both participating in the 'Pitch IT!' event - with two of Scott's students finishing in the top four - this felt like the right season to try this. It provides my team and an opportunity to teach and work directly with students in our community, and it provides the students a chance to not just learn conceptually, but with actual real and relevant concepts regarding how we manage our business."
To create the game top to bottom and achieve the targeted goals, students have been focusing on the following:
- Elements of theme creation will include who is invited to throw out the first onion, who sings the national anthem, and what general promotional themes will headline the game.
- Sales and marketing efforts include creating sales scripts, target lists of potential customers, and developing sales leads, in addition to helping choose the proper channels for advertising the game.
- Scripting - each and every Sweets game is scripted top to bottom, with the exception of the game play on the field. Students will craft the script, incorporating their own game theme elements as well as elements required for each Sweets game.
- Game-day operations will include the students running the execution of the script, the stadium operations, and the promotions in conjunction with Sweets staff members. The class will also get exposure into operations such as the box office, food and beverage and the Sweets Shoppe team store
"This isn't just a learning and volunteering experience. The students that are working will earn money bonuses for reaching stated sales and marketing goals for the event" said Sweets General Manager Katie Biagi." It also has been fun to see the students get creative with this process."
Reardon has been a leading voice in entrepreneurial education and developing future business leaders for over 20 years in the Valley. First at Walla Walla High School, and now at College Place High School, he is excited to begin a tradition of working side-by-side with area businesses to provide real and relevant exposure and opportunities for his students to garner 21st century skills of critical and creative thinking, collaboration, communicating, flexibility and leadership.
"When I was around the age of these students, I remember going to Borleske on hot summer nights to watch the Walla Walla Phillies and later the Padres. I think that summer baseball is a treat in this town, and I appreciate the Sweets committing to its success here. As an educator, it is exciting for me to get our kids involved in a hands-on, real-world project that they can sink their teeth into. This is far from the typical "sit and get" style of learning, and it includes all kinds of twists and turns that don't always go smoothly. But in the end, the kids learn business concepts that couldn't have acquired in any other way." Stated Reardon.
For information on how to be connected with the student team to secure tickets to this game or engage in this unique classroom experience, please email Dan Ferguson with the Walla Walla Sweets (dan@wallawallasweets.com) or Scott Reardon with College Place High School (SReardon@cpps.org).
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