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Local Woman Coordinates Events For Big Leagues

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 12, 2008

BRANDON - Becky Shultz, daughter of Roy and Nancy Shultz of Brandon, hit the big leagues when she became coordinator of special events for Major League Baseball in New York City last summer. It was "about five weeks before the San Francisco All-Star Game - talk about being thrown into the fire!" she said.

Shultz helps plan and execute entertainment and ceremonies at ballparks for special events such as All-Star week in July, the World Series in October, major baseball meetings throughout the year and the national youth Pitch, Hit and Run program in May, June and July.

She brings in celebrities like Jerry Rice, Philip Bailey, Boyz II Men, Trisha Yearwood and Lonestar to sing the national anthem or throw ceremonial first pitches. She arranges for their transportation and accommodations and takes care of their green-room requests (a green room is a place for entertainers to relax before and after performing).

Shultz attended Brandon High School before transferring to Durant High School to take advantage of its state-of-the-art television production studio. At Florida State University, she became captain of the school's drill team and, with Seminole Productions, promoted the university's sports teams.

She has always loved sports and has a passion for baseball.

"Becky's living her dream," her mother said. "When she was in dance, she dreamed of moving to New York and joining the Rockettes. Now here she is, living in New York and using her music, dance and sports background, all in one field."

After graduating summa cum laude with a major in media production from Florida State University, "I was determined to make it in TV news," Becky Shultz said. She interned with and was hired by WFLA News Channel 8 in Tampa.

"I was a satellite coordinator working doubles on the weekend and getting called in for breaking news during the week. I helped out with anything I could do to gain more experience. I had a blast working there," she said.

Nearing the one-year mark as a part-time employee and in need of full-time work, Shultz met a cameraman who worked for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and gave her name to John Franzone, the team's senior director of creative services.

Much to her surprise, Franzone called her.

She said he needed to fill a part-time, game-day-only position, "but after a quick phone interview, he told me that they were hiring for another position, event producer."

She got the job. "I was beyond thrilled!" she said.

While working for the Rays, Shultz met a woman who worked for the Los Angeles Angels. She "was very well connected," Shultz said, and gave Shultz's resume and a personal note of recommendation to a Major League Baseball recruiter.

Shultz received a phone call about five months later and was invited to interview for the position of coordinator of special events.

"I was shocked," she said. After reviewing the job description, she "knew this was the chance of a lifetime."

Her mom said, "I knew she'd be good at it. All her life she's been able to put events together and coordinate things."

"She has the drive to be in the limelight," said her older brother and only sibling, Andrew Schultz, a member of the Professional Bowlers Association who works at the family's store in Brandon, Roydon Music. "She's not bossy, but she likes to have control of things. She likes this because she gets a lot of attention, gets to leave the 'country town' and go to the big city. The perks are pretty cool, too!"

Becky Schultz said she loves inviting her family to events she organizes. "Providing them the opportunity to go, and even to meet some of the people that I get to meet, really makes me happy," she said.

Andrew and Roy Schultz were in the stands in October during the World Series in Denver.

"It was interesting to see how it all works," Andrew said.

Shultz invited her parents to the San Francisco All-Star game.

"It was a thrill!" Nancy Shultz said. "We never dreamed we'd ever be able to go. The All-Star entertainment was one of the best sports shows I've ever seen. ... I've had the joy of watching Becky on TV on the field with the stars, but there we got to see, in person, what Becky does and how she does it."

Becky Shultz introduced her folks to James Denton, an actor on the TV show "Desperate Housewives" - a show her mom watches.

"Meeting him was a highlight of my life," Nancy Shultz said. She displays a photo of their meeting on her desk at the music store.

When Becky Shultz was between events this year, she flew exhausting cross-country flights to Seattle to take care of household business for her fiance, Capt. Marc Vielledent of Tucson, Ariz. He served in Iraq this year with an Army Stryker brigade from Fort Lewis, Wash.

"Being on the field for the anthem and "God Bless America" at the All-Star game and World Series is one of my favorite parts of the job," Shultz said. The songs bring tears to her eyes.

"At last year's All-Star game in San Francisco, I was talking to singer Paula Cole as we walked down the tunnel from her green room to the field," Shultz said. "I told her about Marc being in Iraq and told her not to look at me during the performance because I always cry.

"Right before she sang, she dedicated her performance to the troops in Iraq, and I lost it before she even sang the first note! Marc was watching in Iraq, though ... and he knew that was meant for him."

Another great part of her job, she said, is meeting some of baseball's greatest players.

"Willie Mays was simply amazing," she said. "As far as celebrities go, I guess the most famous would have to be Carrie Underwood, James Taylor and Maestro John Williams," a composer and conductor for the Boston Pops.

Shultz is experiencing another chance of a lifetime this week while in New York for the 2008 All-Star game, to be held Tuesday at Yankee Stadium in honor of the last season in "the house that Ruth built."

The best part about the experience, she said, will be having Vielledent with her. He came home in June.

"I am thrilled that we get to share that moment together!" she said.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampa bay.rr.com or call (813) 657-4531.

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