Curve round out front office roster for 2020
CURVE, Pa. – The Altoona Curve, Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced on Friday several offseason changes to their front office staff ahead of the 2020 baseball season. Current employees Michelle Anna and Annie Choiniere have taken new roles on staff between the 2019 and 2020 seasons and join
CURVE, Pa. – The Altoona Curve, Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced on Friday several offseason changes to their front office staff ahead of the 2020 baseball season.
Current employees Michelle Anna and Annie Choiniere have taken new roles on staff between the 2019 and 2020 seasons and join forces with several new hires: Ashley Daley, Kyle Wilson, Alex Popies, Corbin Padgett, Braeden Appleman, Megan Corcoran, James Petrella and Justin Gallanty.
Michelle Anna took over as the team’s Administrative Assistant in October, after completing her ninth season as the Assistant Concessions Manager. Although she enjoyed the position and working alongside Director of Concessions Glenn McComas, she was eager to make a change when the opportunity arose. Michelle has been with the Curve since 2008 and resides in Hastings, Pa. with her husband, Kevin, and her daughter, Ali.
Ashley Daley filled Anna’s role as Assistant Concessions Manager in November. She has worked for her hometown Curve since 2009 as a gameday concessions employee. Daley completed her associates degree in Physical Therapy and bachelor’s degree in General Science from Mount Aloysius College in December 2015.
“Anytime we have moved an employee to a new role with the organization, we do so to capitalize on their strengths,” said Curve general manager Derek Martin. “After Donna Harpster retired last September, Michelle has seamlessly taken the reigns at the front desk. Her 12 years of experience with us makes her the perfect point guard for our day-to-day operations. The same goes for Ashley as a new full-time staff member. We have watched her grow up right in front of us and we’re thrilled to see how she continues to do that with us year-round.”
Annie Choiniere absorbed new responsibilities at the end of the 2019 season as the team’s Director of Community Relations. She continues to operate as Social Media Manager as well. Choiniere begins her second season with the Curve in 2020 and joined the organization after one season with the Harrisburg Senators.
“Annie was in a brand new role when she came on board with us in 2019,” said Martin. “With her hard work on social media for us, she already had one arm extended into the community. It was a natural transition adding community relations to her plate so she could to jump in with both feet to connect with Blair County and beyond.”
The Curve added three new Ticket Sales Managers at the close of the 2019 season with Kyle Wilson, Alex Popies and Corbin Padgett. The upcoming season will be the first year in Curve, Pa. for all three while Wilson and Popies start their Minor League Baseball careers in Altoona.
Wilson is from Sayville, N.Y. and graduated from Ohio University in 2019 with a Sport Management and Finance degree before he joined the front office in a full-time role. Popies is a Pittsburgh native and earned his degree in Economics from Washington & Jefferson College in May 2019. Padgett joins the Curve after he spent one season with each the Harrisburg Senators and Binghamton Rumble Ponies. He hails from Carlisle, Pa. and is an alumnus of California University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his degree in Sport Management in 2017.
“The new trio on the ticket staff has brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the office. They came into a really good situation by starting at the end of last season and have capitalized on the mentorship from the veteran ticket reps,” said Martin.
Braeden Appleman takes over as the newest Director of Creative Services and will oversee the production and entertainment aspects within the ballpark. He joined the ballclub as a Production Intern for the 2019 season. The Roaring Spring, Pa. native graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Communications Media in December and joined the staff in his new full-time role after the new year.
Appleman will team up with Megan Corcoran as the Creative Services Assistant, a new front office role for 2020. She is from Boise, Idaho and graduated from Boise State University in 2018 with her degree in Media Arts. Corcoran starts her second season in Minor League Baseball after she spent the 2019 season as a Production Intern with the Boise Hawks.
“We have seen fan engagement really soar due to the new videoboard that was installed prior to the 2018 season. David Gallagher, a true entertainment Jedi, did a remarkable job with that over his three years and he showed Braeden the ropes as an intern last year. We are excited to bring more young talents on board in that area with Braeden and Megan, who will allow us to expand on our creation of creative content,” said Martin.
James Petrella joins the Curve for his first season as the team's head groundskeeper. He comes to Altoona by way of the Akron RubberDucks (Double-A, Indians), where he spent the previous two seasons as an assistant groundskeeper. The Tacoma, Wash. native started his baseball career with the RubberDucks in 2014 while he was a student at the University of Akron. Petrella completed his degree in Sport Management at Akron in 2016 and continued to work with the RubberDucks through the 2016 season. He spent 2017 back in Washington state as a gameday groundskeeper with the Tacoma Rainiers and an intern at the Seattle Seahawks practice facility before he returned to Northeast Ohio the following year.
“James’ groundskeeping experience in the Eastern League and the Pacific Northwest is a valuable combination. This is a tough position to find the right experience but we are confident that James is ready to make that jump into a lead role for the first time,” said Martin.
There will be a new voice in the broadcast booth alongside Garett Mansfield in 2020 with Justin Gallanty joining the Curve as the Communications and Broadcasting Assistant. Gallanty is from Westport, Conn. and spent the 2019 campaign in a similar role with the Bowie Baysox after he called games for the Burlington Royals in 2018. His baseball broadcast credentials also include single seasons with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League and Ocean State Waves of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in addition to the Maryland Baseball Network while he was a student at the University of Maryland. Gallanty completed his degree in Broadcast Journalism at Maryland in 2019.
“I am excited to work alongside Justin this season,” said Mansfield, the Curve’s Director of Communications and Broadcasting. “My experience watching him work in the past and the glaring recommendations from those who know him well certainly made him stand out. He will be in a position to thrive by taking this step in his career.”
The new staff is eager for 2020 Opening Day on Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m. with the Curve hosting the Erie SeaWolves, Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona.
The Altoona Curve, 2010 and 2017 Eastern League Champions, have been the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1999. Single-game ticket sales begin on Saturday, March 7 exclusively at Curve Fest at PNG Field. For more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. Additionally, the Stockyard Team Store is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on non-gamedays and online 24/7/365.