RUBBERDUCKS FRONT OFFICE

Adam Horner started with the RubberDucks as the assistant groundskeeper in March 2009 before moving over to the operations side as Director of Ballpark Operations in 2012. A graduate of Mentor High School, Horner attended Youngstown State and the University of Akron. He currently resides in Akron with his wife Jenna and dog Mace.

James Parsons joined the RubberDucks in January 2017 as the Assistant Director of Ballpark Operations. Prior to coming to Akron, Parsons spent five years with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Originally from Columbus, he attended Purdue University and majored in mathematics. Parsons is currently engaged to Rachel. His favorite baseball memory is going to Game 2 of the 2016 World Series.

The 2024 season will be Chris Walsh's 13th with the RubberDucks organization. Following the 2018 season, he and Canal Park were honored as the 2018 Turface Ohio Field of the Year by the Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association. In 2016, he was named the 2016 Eastern League Diamond Pro Sports Field Manager of the Year after helping the RubberDucks host Akron's first Eastern League All-Star Game that season. Following the 2023 season, Walsh was named Eastern League Head Groundskeeper of the Year.

Walsh has spent time as the Head Groundskeeper for the Aberdeen IronBirds, Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Camden Riversharks. He is a native of Boardman, Ohio and a graduate of Kent State University. He currently resides in Cuyahoga Falls with his wife Chrystie and son Declan.

Payton Leddy started with the RubberDucks as a promotions intern for the 2023 season before joining the full-time staff as the Coordinator, Promotions & Community Relations in February 2024. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Leddy worked as a Guest Service Team member for the Cleveland Browns. Leddy is a graduate of Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School and Kent State University with a degree in advertising. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree from Kent State in Sports Administration. A native of Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Leddy is the daughter of Tina and Ed and has two brothers, Ryan and Casey. Her favorite sports memory is Rajai Davis’ Game 7 home run in the 2016 World Series.

Jimmy Farmer joined the RubberDucks as a media relations intern for the 2021 season before joining the full-time staff as the Coordinator, Media Relations in October 2021. Prior to coming to Akron, Farmer was the Director of Media Relations for the Florence RedWolves in the Coastal Plain League. A native of Florence, South Carolina, Farmer is a 2020 and 2022 graduate of Ohio University with a degree in Journalism, minor in Sports Management and Masters in Management. While attending undergrad at Ohio University, Farmer worked as a student manager for Ohio’s baseball team. His favorite baseball memory is Bo Naylor’s walk off single to win the Double-A Northeast Championship for the RubberDucks in 2021.

Marco calls play-by-play on the RubberDucks radio broadcasts and serves as an account executive in corporate partnerships and ticket sales. He joined the RubberDucks in October 2018 after three seasons with Fast Forward Sports Group's club in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was part of the Double-A Southern League club's re-branding of the Suns as the Jumbo Shrimp.

A native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Marco graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota and completed a science-writing internship at the Princeton (New Jersey) Plasma Physics Laboratory. He was a radio production assistant with the Minnesota Twins in 2011, the head of media relations and lead broadcaster with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Class-A Midwest League) from 2012 to 2015, and the media and public relations manager and a radio broadcaster with Jacksonville from 2016 to 2018. He has broadcasted high school and college sports play-by-play, and has been a sports anchor on local radio, currently on WTAM 1100 in Cleveland.

Marco is married to Angelina. He is an active member of the Catholic Church and Young Catholic Professionals and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a regular blood and platelet donor.

Jim calls play-by-play for RubberDucks broadcasts, as he has for the Canton-Akron Indians, Akron Aeros and RubberDucks since 1990, the second year of the franchise in Northeast Ohio. He was inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball of Hall of Fame in 2019, and the 2024 season marks his 31st with the club.

A lifelong Indians fan and author of the book "Rally 'Round Cleveland: The Story of the 1974 Franchise-Saving Cleveland Indians," Jim has broadcasted an Indians Spring Training game each of the last two years. He has called games of dozens of players on their way to Cleveland, spanning from Bartolo Colon, Jim Thome, Charles Nagy, and Grady Sizemore, to Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor and Shane Bieber.

Born in Akron, Jim earned a bachelor of arts in education from the University of Akron. He was the sports information director at Walsh College and University for 33 years from 1982 to 2015. Jim resides in Canton, but his favorite place to eat in Akron is Luigi's.

Nathan Grella joined the Akron RubberDucks as Coordinator, Creative Services in December 2023. Prior to coming to Akron, Grella was a Graduate Assistant for Marketing at Concordia University after stops as head of game entertainment at Waynesburg University and as Director of In-Game Entertainment for the State College Spikes. A 2019 graduate of State College Area High School (PA), Grella is a 2023 graduate from Waynesburg University with a degree in Sports Media with an emphasis in Sports Information/Athletic Communication. After living in Minnesota, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, he currently resides in Akron with his wife Katelyn. Grella’s favorite baseball memory is being in-person at the Max Scherzer no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015. He is a die-hard Oregon State athletics and Minnesota Timberwolves fan.

Brian Lobban joined the RubberDucks as a Suites and Special Events intern during 2017 season before joining the full-time staff as the Coordinator, Corporate Partnerships before the 2019 season. Before joining the RubberDucks, Lobban served as an intern with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and the University of Michigan. A native of Medina, Ohio, Lobban is a graduate of Medina High School and Bowling Green State University with a degree in Sport Management and Business. While at Bowling Green, Lobban was actively involved in the Athletics Ticket Office, the Office of Admissions/Tour Guide Office and served as the President of the Sport Management Alliance. Lobban’s favorite baseball memory is Rajai Davis game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, and his favorite baseball memory from a game he attended was Francisco Lindor’s grand slam in Game 2 of the 2017 ALDS against the Yankees.

Nick Bello joined the RubberDucks as the Coordinator of Corporate Partnerships in May 2022, and transitioned to Manager of Corporate Partnerships in fall 2023. Prior to coming to Akron, Bello interned with the Sussex County Miners from 2019-21 working in corporate partnerships, ballpark operations, and ticket sales. Bello is a 2018 graduate of Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, NJ and from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts with a degree in Business Management with Minors in Finance and Sport Management. While at Assumption, Bello was a four-year member of the football team, and a member of the orientation executive board. Bello was named to the Northeast Ten Conference Athletics Honor Roll while at Assumption. A native of Oak Ridge, NJ, Bello is the son of Yvette and Vinnie Bello. His brother Michael is an outfielder at Troy University and his brother Dominick is a catcher at Anderson University. Bello’s favorite sports memory was beating Bentley University and Stonehill College in double overtime in 2019.

Gabe Cooper joined the RubberDucks as the Coordinator of Corporate Partnerships in April 2023. Prior to coming to Akron, Cooper interned in partnerships with the Baltimore Orioles and worked as a Guest Experience Representative with the Washington Nationals. Originally from Bethesda, Maryland, Cooper has an older sister and brother. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Cooper’s favorite baseball memory is watching the Nationals win the 2019 World Series from his college dorm.

Marco calls play-by-play on the RubberDucks radio broadcasts and serves as an account executive in corporate partnerships and ticket sales. He joined the RubberDucks in October 2018 after three seasons with Fast Forward Sports Group's club in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was part of the Double-A Southern League club's re-branding of the Suns as the Jumbo Shrimp.

A native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Marco graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota and completed a science-writing internship at the Princeton (New Jersey) Plasma Physics Laboratory. He was a radio production assistant with the Minnesota Twins in 2011, the head of media relations and lead broadcaster with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Class-A Midwest League) from 2012 to 2015, and the media and public relations manager and a radio broadcaster with Jacksonville from 2016 to 2018. He has broadcasted high school and college sports play-by-play, and has been a sports anchor on local radio, currently on WTAM 1100 in Cleveland.

Marco is married to Angelina. He is an active member of the Catholic Church and Young Catholic Professionals and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a regular blood and platelet donor.

Trevor Burk joined the RubberDucks full-time staff as the Accounting Manager in November 2021. Prior to coming to Akron, Burk spent a season with the High Point Rockers (NC) of the Atlantic League. A native of Louisville, Ohio, Burk is a 2020 and 2021 graduate of Kent State University with a degree in Business Administration, minor in Sports Administration and Masters in Accounting. While attending Kent State, Burk served as a student manager for Kent State’s baseball team and spent two summers as an intern for the RubberDucks.

Austin Bahmer joined the Akron RubberDucks full-time as Coordinator, Accounting in May 2024. Bahmer spent the 2023 season as an accounting intern with the RubberDucks. He is a 2024 graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University with B.A. in Accounting. The Coshocton, OH native played college baseball while at IWU.

Luke Trese joined the RubberDucks as a merchandise intern in 2019 and promo intern in 2021 before joining the full-time staff as the Coordinator of Merchandise in 2022. A native of Mount Vernon, Ohio, Trese is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in Sport Management. While at Akron, Trese was involved in residence life and housing, and he was awarded regional NRHH Chapter President of the Year. His favorite baseball memory was Tyler Naquin’s walk-off inside-the-park home run on fedora night at Progressive Field. Trese is an avid bowler and pickleball player.

Sam Dankoff enters his 12th season with the Akron RubberDucks and Fast Forward Sports Group. As Vice President, Premium Experience, Sam oversees Suite Sales and Service within the National Interstate Insurance Suite Level at Canal Park as well as all Special Events programming, including The Duck Club By Firestone - Canal Park's private events venue. A native of Akron, Ohio, and a graduate of the University of Akron, Sam has a deeply-rooted affinity for the Akron community and champions its collaborative style. Sam was a member of Leadership Akron's Signature Program Class 35 and was also a Crain's Cleveland Twenty In Their 20's selection in 2018. Sam lives in Stow with his wife, Christina, and the two best dogs in the world, Piper and Sully.

Alex Griego joined the Akron RubberDucks as Coordinator, Premium Experience in November 2023. Prior to coming to Akron, Griego worked an internship with Bullpen Tournaments at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana where he helped operate 25+ youth baseball and softball tournaments over the course of the summer. A graduate of Mt. Vernon High School (IN), Griego is a 2023 graduate from Ball State University with a degree in Sports Administration. While at Mt. Vernon High School, he was a pitcher on the baseball team and was a member of the tennis team. A native of McCordsville, Indiana, Griego currently resides in Akron with his dog Lola. His favorite baseball memory is the New York Yankees winning the 2009 World Series.

Roy Jacobs joined the RubberDucks as a Ticket Sales Executive in May 2016 before being promoted to Vice President of Amateur Baseball Development and Sales in February 2023. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Jacobs was a coach for the Washington Wild Things, Malone University, USA Baseball and Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball Camps. Jacobs is a graduate of Malone University with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management Administration. Jacobs’ favorite memory playing baseball was when he went 6-for-6 against Baldwin Wallace with an infield single followed by two homers, two doubles and another single. His favorite baseball memory working in baseball was Will Brennan’s game tying home run in the 2021 Double-A Northeast Championship game. In addition to his work with the RubberDucks, Jacobs currently serves an assistant baseball coach for Mount Union as well as the Special Assistant to Baseball Operations for New Balance Future Stars Series.

Marco calls play-by-play on the RubberDucks radio broadcasts and serves as an account executive in corporate partnerships and ticket sales. He joined the RubberDucks in October 2018 after three seasons with Fast Forward Sports Group's club in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was part of the Double-A Southern League club's re-branding of the Suns as the Jumbo Shrimp.

A native of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Marco graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota and completed a science-writing internship at the Princeton (New Jersey) Plasma Physics Laboratory. He was a radio production assistant with the Minnesota Twins in 2011, the head of media relations and lead broadcaster with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Class-A Midwest League) from 2012 to 2015, and the media and public relations manager and a radio broadcaster with Jacksonville from 2016 to 2018. He has broadcasted high school and college sports play-by-play, and has been a sports anchor on local radio, currently on WTAM 1100 in Cleveland.

Marco is married to Angelina. He is an active member of the Catholic Church and Young Catholic Professionals and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a regular blood and platelet donor.

Kyle Magovac joined the RubberDucks as a food and beverage intern for the 2021 season before joining the full-time staff a Ticket Sales Executive in October 2021. A native of Wadsworth, Ohio, Magovac is graduate of Highland High School and the University of Cincinnati with a degree in sports administration and a minor in marketing. His favorite baseball memory is Rajai Davis game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.