Lexington County Named Coastal Plain League Organization of the Year
August 28, 2015 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Lexington County Blowfish News Release
HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C.-The Coastal Plain League announced today that the Lexington County Blowfish were selected as the 2015 CPL Organization of the Year.
Lexington County was chosen after collecting surveys, on every facet of an organization from game-day operations to overall hospitality and community involvement, from team owners, general managers, head coaches, players, umpires, and league officials. From these, it was clear that the Blowfish organization stood out as one to be honored in 2015 for excelling in every area possible.
"On behalf of our 15 member franchises, our players, coaches, and fans, it is an honor to recognize the Lexington County Blowfish as our 2015 Organization of the Year," said CPL Commissioner Justin Sellers. "The hard work, dedication, and passion of Bill and Vicki Shanahan, as well as key contributions from general manager Kelly Evans, head coach Jonathan Johnson, Josh Howe, Jordan Kuhns, Vincent James, Chris Price, Connor Baade, Chris Williams, and the rest of their staff clearly made the Blowfish's transition to Lexington County in 2015 a successful and memorable one! We congratulate them all, and look forward to a bright future for the Blowfish organization!"
Along with his wife and co-owner of the Blowfish, Vicki Shanahan, Bill was insistent in acknowledging the tireless work of General Manager Kelly Evans, head coach Jonathan Johnson, Director of Sales and Operations Josh Howe, broadcaster Jordan Kuhns, Food & Beverage Director Vincent James, all the University of South Carolina interns, and most importantly the great fans, sponsors, the Lexington County Council, the Lexington County Recreation and Aging Commission, and the great folks of the Lexington Dixie Youth Sports Complex, who helped in making this entire first season a home run for Lexington County, SC.
"The fact that we were nominated by our peers is truly an honor," said Blowfish Owner Bill Shanahan. "We are thankful that the team that was put together for this season, from the front office and coaching staff, to the interns and Good-Will Ambassadors that worked each game, were recognized for their amazing work."
While the Blowfish have been in the CPL since 2006, this was their first playing in the baseball rich community of Lexington County, after having spent their previous seasons in Columbia. The move to Lexington County was seamless and from the very beginning the pairing made complete sense.
"Lexington County is a hotbed for youth baseball," explained Shanahan. "They know and love the game of baseball, but the county never had a team to call their own so it was a great fit and they have really embraced us since coming over."
Naturally one of the first steps in moving to Lexington County was building a stadium. Having been in the game for over 30 years, including many years in Minor League Baseball, along with a decade in the CPL, Bill took a great deal of knowledge and experience into the planning process for the new ballpark. It was the goal of the LCRAC, Quackenbush Architects, MAR Construction, RB Todd Consulting Engineers,and all of the sub contractors and vendors involved in this project to incorporate a number of ideas to create an intimate baseball viewing experience. This was definitely a "Team Effort"!
"From the wide-open concourse, drink rails, vintage covered grandstand, and "Wrigley Field" style box seats, almost every aspect of this park was inspired by some of the most historic stadiums ever to exist in baseball," explained Shanahan proudly. "Even the field dimensions themselves are a reflection of baseball's most historic ballparks. The right field foul pole is 302 feet down the line, the exact distance that Pesky's Pole at Fenway Park in Boston, centerfield is 394 feet to mirror Wrigley Field in Chicago, left field measures 318 feet to the wall just as does Yankees Stadium in New York and the distance from home plate to the backstop is identical to the 55 feet at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles."
It is this type of unique and creative out-of-the box thinking that has endeared the Blowfish organization with the community so quickly. Pair that with the organization's dedication to community involvement, and the over 60,000 fans to visit this intimate, warm and friendly ballpark throughout the season should be no surprise.
"We see it as our responsibility as an organization to continually reach out and give to our communities," said Shanahan.
The Blowfish have a lengthy list of community giveback programs, but one of their largest is their annual Reading Program that included 77 elementary schools and over 30,000 students in 2015.
"Our staff and Blowie the Blowfish reached out to local elementary schools to help promote reading in Lexington County and surrounding communities," explained Shanahan. "We reward the students who read with complimentary tickets, hot dogs, ice cold Coca Cola, and an on field parade before the game to recognize their achievements based on the total books they read. It's been a wonderful success for all the students, schools and the Blowfish both here in Lexington County as well as in years past in Columbia."
In addition to the Reading Program, the Blowfish also had multiple themed jersey nights to raise money for a number of worth causes. Two of their most successful were their Lake Murray Jerseys and Lexington District 1 Educational Foundation Jerseys. The team raised over $2,000 each for the two causes and more importantly raised a great deal of awareness as well.
"The Lexington County District 1 Educational Foundation mission is to support the educational process and enrich the quality of life in our community by raising and managing funds. " Shanahan explained. "They support the schools, staffs and students, so this event was a great way for us to help them both monetarily and provide much needed awareness. The same for Lake Murray Country Appreciation night , as we had the opportunity to showcase "The Jewel of South Carolina" and help raise money for the incredible Fourth of July annual fireworks show on Lake Murray. Being able to assist with both of these causes as well as many other non profit organizations was an honor."
Given their location, the Blowfish have always had a great relationship with the military community, living in the backyard of Fort Jackson. Each year they celebrate the United States Army Birthday by inviting these soldiers to our game, this season over 1,500 soldiers packed Lexington County's park on June 6th. In addition to this tradition, the Blowfish continually seek out new ways to give back to the military community.
"This season we began honoring a military family at every home game," said Shanahan. "While the active military are recognized at every game as well, we wanted to recognize the families at home specifically. We want those who have spouses serving to know how much we appreciate what they are going through and inviting them to a game, letting them throw out the first pitch and sit in the best box seats in the house, is our way to say thank you for everything."
In addition to what the Blowfish do in the community, Lexington County also excelled in all aspects of game day operations, with teams around the league consistently remarking on the excellent field conditions and hard work of the staff as a whole. One thing the Blowfish take very seriously is the quality of the post-game meals provided to both the visiting and home team each night.
"This is the tradition that Skip Anderson [the previous Executive Director of the Blowfish who helped start the team back in 2006] instilled in us during his time here," let on Shanahan. "Skip made it a point to have great quality and quantity to offer the players and coaches following each game and we have carried that tradition over each and every year since. We were also very blessed this season that local restaurants here in Lexington County wanted to get involved and helped provide some really filling and delicious meals all season long."
Not to be lost in all of the operations and off-the-field success is the play of the team on the field in 2015. The Blowfish made it to the Petitt Cup Playoffs after a 28-28 regular season and soon went on a run upsetting the number one overall seed in the west, Asheboro, during the first round. Ultimately they fell in the West Division Championship Series to Gastonia, but it was yet another great season for a Blowfish team that is historically one of the best in the league year in and year out.
"A large part of our success as a team is our head coach Jonathan Johnson," said Shanahan. "He is a true ambassador of the game, one of the best people in all of baseball. He is a great mentor to our players! Thanks also goes out to our asst coaches, Troy Hoard and Trey Dison. and our trainers from USC Sports Medicine and of course all the Blowfish players and our loyal and caring Host Families!"
Both Vicki and Bill wanted to also thank general manager Kelly Evans for her eight years of service with the Blowfish organization. Evans began as an USC intern in 2008 and has been instrumental in the growth and development of our internship program with the University of South Carolina as well as the many different elements that go into running a successful business. In addition, the Shanahans want to add a big thank you to their dear friends Betty Adams and Dave Stein who have overseen the financial side of the Blowfish from the team's inception, and Michael Jennings who helped shape the complete food and beverage operation from scratch at the new Lexington County Baseball Stadium!
Ultimately, it is this excellence top to bottom in the organization that earned the Lexington County Blowfish the honor of Organization of the Year. They truly embody what it means to be a model organization and have set quite the bar for years to come.
"We do this because we love the game of baseball and furthermore we love to serve," said Shanahan. "We are truly humbled by this recognition and cannot wait to continue our efforts in Lexington County and the CPL for many years to come."
Coastal Plain League Stories from August 28, 2015
- Lexington County Named Coastal Plain League Organization of the Year - Lexington County Blowfish
- Faul Named to All-Coastal Plain League Team - Fayetteville SwampDogs
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