JOURNAL SECTION:
April 2-8, 2018
This is the week in which I began familiarizing myself with the idea of being a mentee. I was able to canvass the Tiffin University campus and meet various faculty and staff members who were on the Elite Sport & Culture (ES&C) week "task force". Dr. Tiell provided me with a tour of all of the facilities, classroom locations, meeting rooms, etc. in which I would ultimately be attending activities for the continued advancement of the ES&C week. I met staff and faculty members and was given information as to what their responsibilities were for the ES&C week activities and the events leading up to the completion of various tasks.
Dr. Tiell provided me with a list of the various locations of possible donors that may be interested in contributing either food or monetary contributions. I was also given instructions and suggestions as to how to go about soliciting support for ES&C week. I went to some of the listed businesses this week and I also went to others that were not listed on the sheet. I was responsible for printing off and cutting flyers out to pass out to businesses, pedestrians, students, and people at the Flea Market downtown Tiffin. I was given the responsibility of managing a decent amount of flyers for continued solicitation.
April 9-15
This week, I met Dr. Tiell on campus for a few meetings that she had with faculty and staff concerning the ES&C week events. I also attended some of Dr. Tiell's meetings in downtown Tiffin for ES&C week. Because this event is hosted by Tiffin University, it was important to get as many of the/ businesses and organizations within the city of Tiffin involved for success in attendance. After the morning meetings, I continued to solicit businesses that were on the list for me to speak with for some form of contribution to the ES&C week. I passed out some flyers to various schools in Seneca county and the surrounding counties. I recorded the businesses that I needed to go back to and the ones that either declined to support ES&C and the businesses that supported and either sent in their donations or asked me to come back at a later date.
There were many businesses that I was able to sit down and discuss the basics about ES&C week and what it entailed and how it would benefit the businesses and the communities. I spent several hours per day going to different businesses which basically took up a lot of time but I was able to advertise the ES&C week whether the business contributed financially or not.
April 16-29, 2018
I went to a lot of schools in the Seneca County and the surrounding areas to advertise for the Elite Sport and Culture week. The goal was to get as many youth interested and excited about the Olympians coming to Tiffin. If the youth were excited then maybe their parents would be excited as well and bring them out for a night to meet and greet the Olympians. I also cold canvassed in search of financial benefactors to donate to the support of the Olympians and their lodging/transportation to Tiffin and back home.
This is the week in which I began familiarizing myself with the idea of being a mentee. I was able to canvass the Tiffin University campus and meet various faculty and staff members who were on the Elite Sport & Culture (ES&C) week "task force". Dr. Tiell provided me with a tour of all of the facilities, classroom locations, meeting rooms, etc. in which I would ultimately be attending activities for the continued advancement of the ES&C week. I met staff and faculty members and was given information as to what their responsibilities were for the ES&C week activities and the events leading up to the completion of various tasks.
Dr. Tiell provided me with a list of the various locations of possible donors that may be interested in contributing either food or monetary contributions. I was also given instructions and suggestions as to how to go about soliciting support for ES&C week. I went to some of the listed businesses this week and I also went to others that were not listed on the sheet. I was responsible for printing off and cutting flyers out to pass out to businesses, pedestrians, students, and people at the Flea Market downtown Tiffin. I was given the responsibility of managing a decent amount of flyers for continued solicitation.
April 9-15
This week, I met Dr. Tiell on campus for a few meetings that she had with faculty and staff concerning the ES&C week events. I also attended some of Dr. Tiell's meetings in downtown Tiffin for ES&C week. Because this event is hosted by Tiffin University, it was important to get as many of the/ businesses and organizations within the city of Tiffin involved for success in attendance. After the morning meetings, I continued to solicit businesses that were on the list for me to speak with for some form of contribution to the ES&C week. I passed out some flyers to various schools in Seneca county and the surrounding counties. I recorded the businesses that I needed to go back to and the ones that either declined to support ES&C and the businesses that supported and either sent in their donations or asked me to come back at a later date.
There were many businesses that I was able to sit down and discuss the basics about ES&C week and what it entailed and how it would benefit the businesses and the communities. I spent several hours per day going to different businesses which basically took up a lot of time but I was able to advertise the ES&C week whether the business contributed financially or not.
April 16-29, 2018
I went to a lot of schools in the Seneca County and the surrounding areas to advertise for the Elite Sport and Culture week. The goal was to get as many youth interested and excited about the Olympians coming to Tiffin. If the youth were excited then maybe their parents would be excited as well and bring them out for a night to meet and greet the Olympians. I also cold canvassed in search of financial benefactors to donate to the support of the Olympians and their lodging/transportation to Tiffin and back home.
May 1, 2018
This journey officially began on Tuesday, May 1st in the year of 2018. I was canvassing around campus with Dr. Bonnie Tiell as we brainstormed new ideas for Elite Sport & Culture Week. It was time for me to meet with my "then" mentor Coach Jeremy Croy who heads the Men's and Women's Track and Field here at Tiffin University. The meeting basically set-up a date to meet once again to write down possible times to meet, complete job tasks that were beneficial to managing the Heminger Athletic Complex, and understanding what the job of Operations Management entailed here at Tiffin University. May 7, 2018 Met Dr. Tiell at Frank's Hall at 10:00am for a meeting about Elite Sport and Culture Week and the organization of the Teams working on different portions of the event. This meeting lasted approximately two hours. Dr. Tiell provided a diagram of the Heminger Athletic Complex and the various options that we could utilize in order to make the most space for this event. The whole group collaborated with each other and Dr. Tiell introduced all of the team leaders. After the meeting was over, I had to meet with Coach Jeremy Croy and discuss my mentorship with him. After I told him what I was hoping to gain from this mentorship, he said that there is not much around the Heminger Athletic Complex to do but he will try to find stuff for me to do. I told Coach Croy that I was interested in learning how to manage an athletic facility and learn the business side as well as the coaching side of it. After I was finished with my meeting with Coach Croy, I went back to printing and cutting flyers for the ES&C week event. May 15th thru 17th, 2018 Visited over fifteen (15) schools in Seneca County and the surrounding areas promoting Elite Sport & Culture Week. These schools included but was not limited to Clyde-Green Springs Schools, Seneca East Local Schools, Old Fort/Bettsville Schools, St. Wendelin Catholic Schools, Fostoria City Schools including Riley Elementary, Fostoria Intermediate, Fostoria JH/H Schools, Hopewell-Loudon Schools, New Riegel Local Schools, Mohawk Local Schools, Seneca-East Local Schools, and Bridges Academy. May 21-27, 2018 I was checked in with Heminger Athletic Complex on Monday to see what I could do. I was given "busy" work. I later met Dr. Tiell for a working lunch to go over specifics for Elite Sport & Culture (ES&C) week. I then met Dr. Tiell at Tiffin Chamber of commerce to discuss how the chamber can help with the marketing of ES&C. Tuesday, I attended the W.I.S.E. in Cleveland, Ohio. After Kori Brown provided a tour and discussed what her responsibilities were throughout her mentorship with the W.I.S.E. organization, I volunteered to hand-out name tags at the entrance of the building when people came in. It was a long night but I did meet some interesting and apparently "important" people in the sports arena. Representatives, CEOs, owners, etc. from Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians and various well-known businesses in and around the Cleveland area were in attendance. There were some awards given out and some speakers were present to give small speeches and the welcome from the various W.I.S.E organizers set the stage for the evening. Overall, it was an exciting evening that was every eventful. There was supposed to be a meeting on Thursday, May 24th to discuss any new developments for ES&C week, but there were too many conflicts with team members so the meeting was postponed. i went back into the community to secure food item promises for he ES&C week. May 28-June 3, 2018 I went back to soliciting donors for the ES&C week. These particular set of people that were on the list given to me by Dr. Tiell have apparently already been spoken to by other representatives of ES&C week. Many had already sent in their donation or already promised to support. I know that Dr. Tiell likes to do a "checks and balance" when dealing with a project of this caliber. Using good business sense as she had exemplified throughout this project is something that ultimately makes programs and events successful! I spent time on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at Heminger Athletic Complex seeing if there was anything 'new' in Operations. Went into the Tiffin community discussing ES&C week and passing out flyers to various establishments. June 4-14, 2018 This week I worked on the ES&C campaign. I also checked into Heminger Athletic Complex with Coach Croy . He seemed to be so busy that I began to take it personal. My thought process is this: If I am ever going to learn how to be productive in Operations, then I need to be around my mentor to see exactly "what" it entailed. Seeing the good, bad, and the other is part of the whole picture and would ultimately determine if I am equipped to handle such a responsibility. No big deal though, I learned a LOT about how people deal with their mental capacity (or lack thereof). This opened the door for me to be able to be more effective working for Dr. Tiell and the ES&C week event. I went downtown Tiffin to pass out flyers about ES&C week and talked to the managers/owners of establishments to gain their support and I hung up flyers. June 20-23, 2018 On Wednesday, June 20th I met with Dr. Tiell at 10:30am at Heminger Athletic Complex to discuss arrangements of the chairs, tables, location of the events and where the food was going to be set up. We also discussed where the Olympians were going to leave their belongings and where the table registration was going to be set up. Dr. Tiell went over options on how to strategically set up the stage and the chairs and where we would have the countries' flags set up and where we would have the student stand prior to the ceremony for the Olympians processing into the gym. Friday, June 22nd, I attended a meeting at 10:00am at Tiffin YMCA to discuss "Drive Reineke" for the Tiffin area during the Heritage Festival in the downtown area. We also discussed when and how to distribute flyers at the Tiffin University's Football Game(s) and especially the Homecoming Game. The team also discussed the downtown Farmer's Market and the dates that we would set-up to pass out flyers and to tell people about the Elite Sports & Culture Week. We discussed the particulars for the development of the YMCA Youth Games which was under the direction of Dr. Rick Goeb. We discussed having a group with disabilities join us for the Opening Ceremony of the Elite Sport & Culture Week event. June 23, 2018 I attended my first Farmer's Market in the downtown Tiffin. For the five hours that I was there, I set-up the booth and the Olympic mini-games to attract more youth to the booth. I passed out flyers advertising for the Elite Sport & Culture Week and spoke with people and explained to them what the event was all about. July 2018 This month, I did a little bit of everything between ES&C week and Heminger Athletic Complex. I picked up the banner from the library on the 13th and took it to the Farmer's Market on Saturday, July 14th. I returned the banner to the library on Monday, July 16th and began to advertise the ES&C week by passing out flyers to people and various businesses. i had a scheduled meeting with Coach Croy on Tuesday, July 17th but apparently it was not important because he was out of town and I did not find out until I called him after waiting for him for almost an hour at the Heminger Athletic Complex. He rescheduled the meeting for the following Tuesday and he assigned me some "busy" work. "Attitude reflects leadership" is what I always say. But what I try to do at all costs is to have the "attitude" of a leader regardless of what "type" of leadership is over me. One thing is for sure, one must learn to take the good with the bad but do not "become" the bad. Allow your voice to be heard in spite of the circumstances that are in front of you. August 1st thru 31st I literally came on campus and went to the Heminger Athletic Complex this whole month from 2-4 hours per day (average 3 hours) between Tuesdays and Fridays (one Monday) observing what goes on in Operations of the Heminger Athletic Complex. I ran into the Athletic Director a few times. I saw people walking on the track. I saw the track team working out. I am sure that there are many "behind the scenes" operational aspects to the maintenance of the facility, but I did not see it. I do know this one thing, if you really want to learn something about a job, show-up and "observe" very carefully and quietly. September 5th thru 7th and 18th thru 21st I continued to solicit various businesses to encourage them to support ES&C week. I sat down and spoke with school administrators as well as businesses encouraging them to advertise and get the word out about what the Sports Management team is attempting to implement on the TU campus and the Seneca County and surrounding areas. Also spent a little time in Heminger Athletic Complex just to see and expect to learn something about the Operations of the facility. October 1st thru 4th I went to the Heminger Athletic Complex to see if I could locate Coach Croy. After that, I went into the downtown area of Tiffin and advertised ES&C week. I visited several businesses and spoke to some of the owners and asked if it was alright to leave our ES&C week flyers in their establishment. Many of the businesses were reluctant to donate financially because they said that they support TU with their "Annual" campaign. October 5, 2018 I printed and cut into four sections flyers advertising the Elite Sport & Culture Week event. These flyers were handed out at the Homecoming Game on Saturday, October 6th (tomorrow). I picked-up the ES&C banner from Bailiwicks and took to take it to the Homecoming Game along with other promotional items to display at the Homecoming Game. October 6th, spent time at the Homecoming Game and advertised the ES&C. October 8th thru 12th I participated in the Festival of Champions Conference call to reinforce information about official photos for youth completing all three (3) pillars. Print, cut and distribute flyers to the various pizza places (Napolis, Dominos, Marcos, Reinos, Fort Ball, A.J.s, Pizza Hut) to attached to their boxes or pass out to their carry-out customers. Met with Chris Caldwell and helped to review the Kahoot trivia contest. Met with my Mentor after the meeting. Brought all donations and pizza coupons for inventory of all donations. Picked up water, plates, napkins, , etc. for the pizza party on Monday (October 21, 2018) night. Reviewed final ES&C week tasks to see what needed to be done. October 13, 2018 Picked-up ES&C week banner from Bailiwicks and set it up at the downtown Farmer's Market. Brought and passed out half-sheets of flyers for further advertising. Set-up the booth for some of the TU students to work the booth. I tore down the booth at the end of the Farmer's Market, I took the banner to the football game where we passed out flyers and advertised the ES&C week event. I returned the banner to Bailiwicks after the football game. October 19, 2018 I spent most of the day running errands for the ES&C week. I was picking up items and dropping them off to other locations. I believe that I picked-up and dropped off that ES&C week banner so much that it sees me coming in its direction. When I pick-up the ES&C week banner from the library, it seems as if only one person ever knows where the banner is located. Saturday, October 20, 2018 I brought the stand-up banner to the YMCA and set it up for the Youth Games. I helped to set-up the games and helped prepare the organization of the games and activities. We were talking to the parents and guardians encouraging them to bring the youth to the ES&C opening ceremonies on Tuesday, October 22, 208. We passed out medals to the youth that placed in their respective events. I helped run some of the events along with other TU students. After the competition was over, I helped to clean up the area that we used and took some items back to the campus. Monday, October 22, 2018 Today, I prepared to help set-up the final items for the completion of the welcoming of the Elite Sport & Culture Week events, Olympians and guests. I brought the stand-up banner to the Heminger Athletic Complex and helped finish placing displays at the entrance and throughout the Athletic Complex. Went to Heminger Athletic Complex to ensure that the set-up and the blow-up Dragon was in place and all areas of the building was ready to receive the guests, Olympians and the students. Met with the team the was in charge of audio, video, transportation of the guests, etc. Made sure that things were in order and ready to be displayed and/or moving properly for an easy transition into the introductions of the Olympians, the dignitaries, the campus President, International Fair Play President, etc. Arranged to have lunch sent to the Heminger Athletic Complex. Continued to work with team members to address any issues that may occur and deal with any concerns. In the evening, I taped over over 300 flags (colored by students grades K-8) to the entrance of the Heminger Athletic Complex windows. I did a last check on the facility to ensure that everything was ready to go for the next day. Picked up university's van keys for tomorrow's travel to pick-up Olympians. Tuesday, October 23, 2018 Arrived at the Heminger Athletic Complex to pick-up the university's van and journey to Cleveland Airport in which I am scheduled to pick-up a few Olympians. After I secured the Olympians, I rendezvoused with other university vans and took the Olympians on a tour of the Cleveland Indian's Stadium. After the tour was over, we took pictures and then some of us went to lunch while others went to the hotel in Tiffin to prepare for the evening events. After dropping off Olympians to the hotel, I went to the Heminger Athletic Complex to ensure that everything was ready for the Olympians when they arrived that evening and to make additional runs when needed. I checked in with Dr. Tiell and other team members to go over evening plans once again. Made a few trips to the loft and transported ice, food, and drinks to the loft from the Heminger Athletic Complex and other areas that we picked-up at in and around Tiffin area. I went back to the hotel to pick-up the Olympians that were ready to go to the Heminger for the evening event. I continued to shuttle the Olympians as they were ready to be transported. I finally had all of the transportation for the Olympians stable and covered, so I stayed at the Heminger to ensure that the registration table had enough people to help and the waiver table was set up properly to receive the students and the guests of the college. I helped put items into the backpacks. I directed the students to their areas after they arrived at the Heminger. I instructed some students on where to direct guests as they arrived. Once the program began, I monitored and directed the students on where to go and when to go for the procession of the Olympians and when to take the flags and where to take them. The team was very effective and efficient. I looked up into the balcony area and saw my Mentor taking in the viewing of this event unfolding and it was "priceless-----". I could imagine her thinking, "I love it when a plan comes together". Double checked to make sure that the concession stand was ready to receive our guests after the processional. Made runs throughout campus to ensure that we had everything that we needed. Checked -in with Dr. Tiell to keep her informed of everything that was going on while she was working on her portion of the event. After the ceremony and the processional, pictures were taken of the whole group on the stage of Olympians and of the students who completed the 3-Pillars. After this, everyone broke off into different sections of the Heminger. Katie Smith and Jon Koncak took to the basketball courts where students had the opportunity to play a game of basketball with them. Other Olympians were strategically placed in various areas of the facility in which they were able to showcase their particular athletic specialty. There was a booth that people could take pictures with the Olympians and obtain autographs from the Olympians. This evening was fun-filled and educational for many. After the event was over, I helped clean-up the facility and I also transported some of the Olympians back to the hotel for the night. I viewed my schedule for the next days events. Wednesday, October 24, 2018 Another morning for the Elite Sport & Culture Week....tour. I had to laugh at this particular morning because it was the morning that the Olympians were scheduled to go into the schools and speak to (or motivate) the students. I decided to go "off schedule" and take all of my Olympians to every location so that the students, faculty, and staff would have the opportunity to visit and meet with them all. It actually turned out really well because the Olympians that I transported to the schools were motivated by the students. They "tag-teamed" with each other and were able to provide the students with engagement and energy that made the whole morning and part of the day more spectacular than expected. The Olympians intrigued the faculty and staff at all of the schools that we visited. We were able to visit the Good Shepherd nursing facility on our way to visiting New Riegel (NR) School district. We visited NR to support Aliana Pompey. She was very happy to see us there. This unexpected visitation made the visitation more memorable to the students and the staff. When I told the Olympians that the schedule says that we should be headed back to the campus for lunch, they said that they are not hungry and we can go to another school. As I laughed, I told them that it is good to stay at least close to the schedule because Dr. Tiell has all of the Olympians on a schedule that will allow them all to rest and be able to eat when they needed to build up their energy. Many of the Olympians stated that they would like to do this event again. As if this day was not long enough, we all had the opportunity to see the art exhibit in the art gallery on campus. We also were able to be in attendance for the Opening of the E-sports Facility. This was pretty amazing! Some of the Olympians finished lunch and joined the team as we went over to this historic occasion. The evening was more of a reception for the Olympians and some of the financial benefactors for this event. Dr. Tiell set-up this reception with style, class, and elegance. We called it the "Meet and Greet" and it was near the Ritz in downtown Tiffin. The event lasted for about 3-4 hours and everyone was able to mingle and share stories about their experiences being Olympic Athletes. When the evening was over, other van drivers and myself transported the Olympians back to the hotel for the night. Thursday, October 25, 2018 There was so much going on today. So much that needed to be done. We had Olympians that needed to be transported back to the various hotels between Detroit, Cleveland, and Columbus. But we also needed to be present for the "Good Morning World" Press Conference. A few professors brought their classes to the press conference to see and hear the Olympians who were still on campus. After the press conference, I transported a group of Olympians to the Cleveland Airport and a few to the hotel because their flight(s) did not leave until the next early morning. The conversations and connections that I made during the times that I transported the Olympians from campus to hotel, hotel to airport, etc. have been beneficial and educational. Many of these Olympians have some life stories that will carry me to the next stage of maturity. I still communicate with some of the Olympians even today. Modern technology has provided that opportunity to communicate from long distances. Friday, October 26, 2018 I thought this was going to be a "late" day for me, however, I was contacted to join the final few Olympians and my Mentor for lunch on campus. Yea, I do not turn-down too much of "free" anything. I am so glad that I attended this lunch. I was able to talk to the Olympians that were still here on a more personal note because they had already completed the task i which they had traveled. The lunch was more of a "Thank You" for all that you have done to ensure that Elite Sport & Culture Week was a success. Tuesday, October 30th thru Friday, November 1, 2018 I went to the Heminger Athletic Complex to finish the clean-up for ES&C week. Anything that was left in the gym was to be placed in the storage room provided to us until Dr. Tiell gave directives of what to do with it. |
This is EXACTLY how I felt when this evening (Thursday, October 25th) was over. I literally wanted to sleep in the van in the parking lot , but I drove home and set my alarm to get up the next morning at 5:30am to do it all over again.
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