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Padres Hit a Grand Slam with the #SDSocialSummit

September 3, 2014 2

This year has been a memorable one for me as a Padres fan. We lost our beloved announcer Jerry Coleman and then Hall of Famer, Tony Gwynn. They were both icons in the Padres organizations and I know they would want us to continue to proudly cheer for our home team, which is exactly what I’ve been doing. I’ve attended over a dozen home games and even got to take on batting practice with the Padres earlier in the season. On Sunday, I had another memorable afternoon at the ballpark. The Padres hosted their first Social Summit and I was lucky enough to snag an invite.

Padres SD Social Summit Flyer

They hosted 30+ bloggers, marketing  professionals and other media influencers (all Padres fans of course) to their first ever SD Social Summit. Inning by inning, here’s how my day went:

First Inning- Check in was at 9am. We received an awesome #SDSocialSummit t-shirt (I’ll definitely be sporting this around) and tickets to the game that afternoon.

Padres Social Summit T-Shirt

Second Inning- The Padres provided us with a delicious breakfast at the ballpark! We had a chance to meet other attendees, mingle and as a bonus we had an amazing view of the Coronado Bridge.

Breakfast at the Ballpark

Breakfast at the Ballpark. Photo Credit: @gdarkligher

Third Inning- Wayne Partello, the Padres Chief Marketing Officer introduced himself and gave us a run down of what our day would look like. The audience was filled with questions on all aspects of Padres baseball including the PR disaster about the naming of our Hall of Fame. The new name honors MLB Commissioner Bud Selig who many feel did nothing for the San Diego franchise. Mr. Partello was kind enough to answer our questions and admitted that their reasons for honoring Bud Selig weren’t properly conveyed to fans before the backlash happened.

Fourth Inning- We got a VIP  tour of the field with cool photo ops.

SD Social Summit Padres Field Tour

 

SD Social Summit Padres Field Tour with Friars

Fifth Inning- After touring the field, we took a seat in the dugout to await the arrival of the Padres head coach, Bud Black.  Bud Black gave a press conference right from the dugout.  This was one of my favorite parts of the summit. Mr. Black very gracious and appreciative of all our questions and boy did we have a lot! And tough ones too! I’m not sure he expected so many hard questions from our group but he answered all of them thoroughly and honestly. I personally asked what we were going to do to make sure we’re a strong contender for the NL West title and have a strong chance of October baseball next year. He replied by sharing his strategy to fill the farm system with a depth of talent and also discussed how he will continue to motivate the team to always fight until the very end whether it’s during a single game or to fight for that last wild card spot (we still have a chance this year!).

Meeting Padres Coach Bud Black

 

Press Conference in the Dugout

Sixth Inning– We had the unique opportunity to share our input by participating in a brainstorming session about future fan giveaways and promotions. There were definitely many interesting ideas including a fanny pack giveaway and having a Star Wars night. I personally voiced that I enjoy practical giveaways for items that are timeless and can be used year after year. The Padres agreed that they definitely want people to be using their giveaways long term. They want to avoid giving out tchotchke items  that will be tossed. I’m looking forward to seeing their future promotions and giveaways calender to see if they’ll use our ideas. Being a true fan, I really appreciated having a voice in how their fan programs are run.

Padres Giveaways Brainstorming Session

Seventh Inning- Padres President and CEO Mike Dee joined us and shared his thoughts about our team and also the future of our team. He explained the new hire of General Manager A.J. Preller and how his role will help us build a championship team. Preller is said to not only have an eye for talent but also has the ability to really develop talent. I am excited to see his strengths put to good use in San Diego. With time we’ll be able to tell just how good he is by winning championships and I look forward to it.

Eight Inning- After a quick seventh inning stretch, we reconfigured ourselves into 3 small groups.  We had one on one sessions with Padres executives and staff including Ron Fowler, Ted Leitner, Mike Dee and Josh Stein. This gave us another chance to voice our opinions and get our questions answered. I enjoyed Mr. Leitner’s stories about Tony Gwynn and his enthusiasm for the game.

SD Social Summit Small Group Sessions

SD Social Summit Small Group Sessions. Photo Credit: San Diego Padres

Ninth Inning- We wrapped up the first annual SD Social Summit with another tour as we made our way to a suite stocked with food and winning vibes. We made it just in time for the first pitch and enjoyed a game against our arch rival, Dodgers among good company. Mark Kotsay, a fan favorite and retired Padres Player who is now an announcer of Fox Sports SD stopped by our suite say hello during the game.

SD Social Summit Tour

SD Social Summit Tour. Photo Credit: @PadresMikeDee

Mark Kotsay at SD Social Summit

Mark Kotsay at SD Social Summit. Photo Credit: @Padres360

One thing that really stood out to me is the positive attitude from all the staff at the Padres organization. Every single person I met was nice, professional and shares a desire to see the Padres succeed.  The attitude to fight until the end that Bud Black instills in our players is also shared by the front office staff. Unfortunately we lost that game, but other than the loss, it was truly a day to remember. Attending the SD Social Summit affirmed my faith in the team and I still believe that we are very close to a World Series win!

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