Sponsorships are an incredibly important part of the department that cannot afford - literally and figuratively - to be overlooked. There has been a lot of change in the past few years in terms of sponsorship for the department, and it's important that we give recognition where recognition is due. Due to issues that are above my pay-grade (which is non-existent) Subway decided not to renew their sponsorship, leaving a gap in funding that needed to be filled as soon as possible. Luckily, Virginia Tech is lucky in the fact that local Blacksburg companies jump at the opportunity to work with the university. Wicked Taco, and new Mexican restaurant in the area, partnered with Rec Sports to replace Subway as the sponsor for the department's respective Employees of the Month. The reason it was important to figure out the sponsorship right away is that the company's logo is displayed on the public boards in both War in McComas. Why give them free advertising if the are not fulfilling the duties a sponsorship requires? Another cool part of the Employee of the Month sponsorship in particular is each student who wins for their department that month - 10 win each month - receive a voucher for a free meal at, now, Wicked Taco. As the September Employee of the Month, I received the voucher. The smart thing about that is, Wicked Taco knows no one wants to eat alone. Therefore, I went and used my voucher to pay, but my two roommates - who I forced to come with me because #CoDependent - paid, bringing in Wicked Taco revenue they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. As the old saying goes, what goes around comes around, and sponsorships are very important in the sports world!
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This week was very special week in Recreational Sports planning. With Virginia Tech Homecoming fast approaching, we were in "crunch-time" with preparing for the annual Homecoming 5K race. This race has been a Viriginia Tech tradition for many years and a great way to get the Blacksburg and New River Valley community involved with campus. It also poses a unique opportunity to have community members get on campus and feel as if they are a part of the school. While many community members relate to Virginia Tech through Hokie Football, it's incredibly important to the school that community members feel involved year round. A very special part about this event was that it was dedicated to officer Deriek Crouse who was killed in the line of duty back in 2011. There were a lot of service men and women, as well as the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, present at the event to honor Officer Crouse. When marketing this event we had to be very aware of the fact that this was a memorial event. We wanted to be respectful of Officer Crouse's family and his memory, while also encouraging the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg community to participate in this community-building event. Essentially, we had to figure out how to balance the sad with the happy. That may not make sense but that's the best way I can think to describe it. Before the race began, we had a fellow Officer give a short speech and dedicated the race. I really enjoyed behind apart of this new Virginia Tech tradition and hope I did it justice! Champ Nights. Oh, lovely, chaotic Champ Nights. To be honest before I started this job I had never given Champ Nights a thought. As much as I love them, my friends and I are sadly not "make it to the Championships" level when it comes to intramural sports. ONE DAY. I WILL win an intramural t-shirt before I leave this university (here's looking at inner tuber water polo to make that happen....#DreamBig). Anyway, Champ Nights are a very cool part of the Virginia Tech sporting atmosphere that sadly a lot of people never get to experience. The programming Rec Sports put on is incredibly extravagant and a lot of fun. The marketing department is responsible for organizing all of the games at half-time, as well as announcing the games and engaging all of the spectators that have come to cheer on their friends. I'd truly call these Champ nights a hidden gem of Tech because no one seems to realize that the prizes we offer are incredibly cool. If I ask specters to participate just by presenting them the game, there's rarely much interest. But if I subtly mention the winner will get a free FitBit or AppleTV and you can bet participation interest skyrockets. Overall, our goal is to make the Champ Night a great experience for everyone. Virginia Tech has one of the most active collegiate intramural programs in the country with over 10,000 students participating annually. That is a ridiculously large amount of people, putting a lot of pressure on the department to make keep up that popular reputation. Creating a fun, competitive atmosphere is a crucial part in the success of the program! As a marketing assistant a large part of my job is to figuring out the most high-traffic places on campus and placing our content there.
One thing this internship has made me realize is that, while I enjoy the strategic marketing part of the job, I think I would prefer to be a designer. I took a class in Virginia Tech's SOVA college that was focused around how to use Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver back in my Sophomore year. While that class gave me a strong foundation of skills needed to physically create the content, my biggest roadblock is in the creativity itself. I'm passionate about our programs, I love getting people involved, but I struggle with expressing that on paper through design. Our department has three amazing student designers that regularly create awesome content and from watching them I really wish that is something I could do. Don't get me wrong, my boss Megan is wonderful and 100% willing to to give me design projects; I'm just too much of a coward to take them. I tried one and it turned out alright but I'm currently more comfortable with the content aspect of the job. Hopefully through working here and watching Alex, Kate, and Allison design, I will gain the courage to try out a few of my own. I've added a few of their posters as an example of all the wonderful things they create for the Rec Sports department! This week in Rec Sports I got to see a different side to the organization: the managerial side. My boss called me in to her office because she wanted me to see a more business-side of the job as well as weigh-in with my opinion on the matter. A freshman student was there to inquire about creating a Flag Football Club team. While the Intramural sports department of Recreational Sports offers a Flag Football intramural program every Fall, this student wanted to create a more competitive team to compete intercollegiately year round. While he enjoyed the bonding aspect intramurals offered, he had played high school football and wanted to get back into a more competitive, time-dedicated program. While Sport Clubs offers 31 respective teams, Flag Football is not currently one of them. My first instinct was to jump for joy and tell them "YES," because why not expand our programs to offer my variety. In my giddy-school-girl-response's defense, I still thing the idea of a Flag Football Club Sport is a good idea; however, there's a lot more involved with creating a new program than I ever imagined. Kellie explained to the boy how any student is allowed to start their own Virginia Tech club (as long as they stick to the guidelines laid out by the Division of Student Affairs), but becoming a Sport Clubs recognized team is a very difficult task. When she said that my mind automatically went to Title IX and thinking that it had to do with the distribution of our current teams and gender. However, I learned a lot about the financial background and the paperwork involved with Sport Club teams. I won't bore you with the 15 minutes of financial chatter that then occurred - because I honestly couldn't explain it properly even if there was a gun to my head - but what it boiled down to is the Rec Sports department would have to have an increase in funds by approximately $6,000 in order to add Flag Football. Blew my mind. Coming from a Public Relations and Marketing background I honestly never give much thought to the financial side of these situations. That's one thing I'm very thankful for, that working in Rec Sports has taught me to always think like a business person. Image courtesy of http://blogs.fortlewis.edu/pbgeisinger/files/2014/10/image.png
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WHY BLOG?Throughout the Spring 2015 semester I used this blog as a means in which to voice my ideas and opinions regarding the discussions held in my Topics in Sports Communication course at Virginia Tech. Archives
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