{"id":61800,"date":"2011-03-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/front-row-seat-to-red-sox-nation\/"},"modified":"2011-03-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-17T00:00:00","slug":"front-row-seat-to-red-sox-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2011\/03\/front-row-seat-to-red-sox-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Front row seat to Red Sox Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tWest Warwick native getting writing, retail experience with Red Sox<\/p>\n


\nKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 17, 2011 \u2013 Just weeks away from opening day, there is a major buzz about the Boston Red Sox this spring. With the additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to an already strong lineup, there is added excitement for the 2011 season.<\/p>\n


\nRecent 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate Ren\u00e9e Lavoie is getting an up close look at Red Sox Nation this spring, thanks to her internship with the organization. Lavoie, who earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism in 2008, is in Fort Myers, Fla. as a merchandise and administrative intern with the team. She oversees the team store and helps manage the 40-plus employees. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cOur store is unique in the way that its manager and buyer, Doreen Arsenault, designs everything to be specifically for spring training in Fort Myers,\u201d Lavoie said. \u201cWe carry a lot of items you won\u2019t be able to find anywhere else, and our store has been the leader in terms of sales in MLB team training stores for the past several years.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nLavoie, who will finish her master\u2019s degree in communications in May, also has taken on the role of reporter for the organization\u2019s top minor league affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox. She has been writing the Report from the Fort, a series of features on www.pawsox.com about players and coaches who are either expected to suit up for the PawSox this season, or have done so in the past. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe PawSox figured that I would be in the area and it would be a good connection for the column,\u201d Lavoie said. \u201cGetting interviews for the column is overseen by the Boston Red Sox public relations department, and it works to connect me and the players I choose to speak with.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nLavoie has actually been a part of the Red Sox organization for several seasons. She spent the 2010 season working in three different departments for NESN, the sports media outlet owned by the Red Sox and Boston Bruins. She worked in sales and traffic for the network, and was part of the remote production teams for both the Red Sox and Bruins broadcasts.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIn sales, I would generate reports from the sales reps and assist with finding creative ways to help the (television) ratings,\u201d Lavoie said. \u201cIn production, I would assist with live shoots at Fenway and the TD Garden, where I would observe the talent, run tapes, and compile statistics as needed. I also spent time in the NESN offices learning how to edit, copy, and produce different elements of a live sporting event\u2019s broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nLavoie\u2019s connection with the Red Sox began during her time as a student at 溏心vlog免费B站. She worked at McCoy Stadium \u2013 home of the Pawtucket Red Sox \u2013in the team store and selling programs at the front gate.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe first thing they teach you, before you\u2019re even done with your interview, is that their stadium and operation involves everyone,\u201d Lavoie said. \u201cThey encourage you to make the fans\u2019 experience count and assist with anything and everything. The same attitude is carried out throughout the rest of the Red Sox organization.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nLavoie has grown up in the sporting world and was a four-year member of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s swimming and diving team, serving as a captain her senior season. Her family often attended Rhode Island Tiger Sharks games. The Tiger Sharks \u2013 which played in her hometown of West Warwick \u2013 are a former minor league team affiliated with the independent Northeast League.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI was a Sox fan growing up, but not to the extent I am now,\u201d Lavoie said. \u201cMy family would have the game on TV on weekends and I would get bored and end up watching it. My dad and brothers were really into baseball and would bring me to local Tiger Sharks games, which I thought were really boring and didn\u2019t like going to at all. But it was my dad\u2019s version of \u2018family bonding,\u2019 and I didn\u2019t have a choice in the matter. My mom used to tease me that someday I would change my mind, and it turns out she was right.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tThese days, she envisions a future in which baseball figures a prominent role. Lavoie hopes to pursue philanthropic work with an organization such as the Red Sox Foundation, which promotes health, education, recreation and social service needs of children and families across New England.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI truly believe in bringing Major League Baseball to all types of people,\u201d Lavoie said. \u201cI really love being involved and bringing the game to fans on so many levels and being able to connect people to what might be just a dream otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tCompassion is a part of Lavoie, who originally came to 溏心vlog免费B站 as a nursing student. Despite a strong interest in the program, she switched to journalism in an effort to better balance her academic and athletic schedules. Though breaking into sports journalism as a woman is no easy task, Lavoie has found her niche.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe key things I have learned so far is to be willing to offer help to everyone and anyone, whether they ask for it or not,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re beginning your career, you need to not only network but make a lasting impression. We are all human. It doesn\u2019t matter if you are dealing with the janitor or the owner of the Boston Red Sox, you should treat everyone with the same respect and courtesy. The employees of the organization often act the same.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI often think that I have no idea how I\u2019ve ended up here, but when you really connect the dots, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time chasing down ideas that I find interesting and goals that I\u2019ve wanted to reach. Putting all the small steps together is what truly has brought me here today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

West Warwick native getting writing, retail experience with Red Sox KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 March 17, 2011 \u2013 Just weeks away from opening day, there is a major buzz about the Boston Red Sox this spring. With the additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to an already strong lineup, there is added excitement for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}