The Pensacola Blue Wahoos announced yesterday that the organization has hired Chuck Arnold for the position of Sales Manager, Michael Taylor as Group Sales Executive and Courtney Griffith of Lawson Consulting as Public Relations Consultant. Arnold and Taylor will report to Jonathan Griffith, Executive Vice President, and Courtney Griffith will report to Bruce Baldwin, President.
Arnold will focus on corporate sales and client services for the Blue Wahoos. He will seek to gain new partners, maintain current partners and create new ways for local companies to gain exposure in the Blue Wahoos experience.
Before taking this position, Arnold, a native of East Tennessee, attended Milligan College on a baseball scholarship and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Performance and Exercise Science. Following his time at Milligan, he attended East Tennessee State University and received a Master’s Degree in Sports and Leisure Management. He had a brief stint as an assistant baseball coach at King University before joining the Johnson City Cardinals (Rookie Affiliate for the St. Louis Cardinals) as Assistant General Manager. After two seasons with the Cardinals, Arnold was promoted to General Manager and served in this role for the past eight years.
Taylor will work to grow the group sales business for the team. Duties will include selling birthday parties, the Field of Dreams experience, the ballpark’s all inclusive party decks and other group outings at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Before taking this position, Taylor worked as a trainee in the Wahoos Box Office during the 2013 season. While he was born in Texas, Taylor grew up in Pensacola and attended Booker T. Washington High School where he was a kicker on the football team. Following high school he attended Troy University on a football scholarship and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management. Many of Taylor’s football records still stand at Troy.
Griffith will manage the team’s off-the-field PR initiatives and assist with the team’s baseball media relations, including drafting press releases, creating the weekly e-newsletter, social media and writing content for BlueWahoos.com. She will also assist with the community relations, PR and marketing strategic objectives and calendars.
A graduate of Emerson College in Boston, MA, Griffith is the owner of Lawson Consulting and her client list also includes Margaritaville Hospitality Group and First Watch Restaurants. Prior to owning her own consulting business, Griffith was the Public and Community Relations Manager for the Gwinnett Braves (Triple-A affiliate for the Atlanta Braves) under Baldwin. She held this position during the team’s inaugural season in Gwinnett and created the team’s charitable foundation and grant program. Griffith also held a similar position with the New Britain Rock Cats (Double-A affiliate for the Minnesota Twins) and previously managed the off-the-court PR for the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) and day-to-day PR for the Minnesota Lynx (WNBA).