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Kane native is a member of the Pirates’ ‘team’ |
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Written by Publisher
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Friday, 12 March 2010 |
Photo submitted
Julia Drost (right), a 2002 graduate of Kane Area High School, poses with Andy Van Slyke (left), a star with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1987 to 1994. Drost works for the Pirates as the coordinator of premium seating at PNC Park. Van Slyke, a three-time National League all-star and five-time Gold Glove winner, helped promote a recent Pirates’ event for customers served by Drost.
Kane native Julia Drost soon will head to “spring training” in Bradenton, Fla. with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
She’s a member of the Pirates’ “team,” but probably won’t be on the field throwing a pitch or hitting a baseball.
Instead, she’ll “step to the plate” for the Pirates as their coordinator of premium seating at PNC Park, the Pirates’ home field on the North Shore of Pittsburgh.
Drost, a 2002 graduate of Kane Area High School, has worked for the Pirates for 15 months. She has held her current position for about eight months.
“I serve all the premium accounts,” Drost said in describing her job responsibilities. “I work with all the major companies that have luxury suites at the ballpark.”
Drost is the liaison between the Pirates and the companies that pay for privileges in the 65 luxury suites at PNC Park.
“I’m the ‘go-to’ person,” Drost said in explaining her role in dealing with the suite-holders. “I’m their main contact person. I’m there if they need anything. My job is to make them feel important. They’re spending a lot of money. We want to give them the best.”
Drost said “one of the perks” of her current job is traveling to spring training with the Pirates’ best customers. She leaves this week for a visit in Bradenton where the Pirates train for the upcoming major league baseball season. She will accompany her clients on a chartered jet and will stay at a first-class hotel.
“I’m super excited,” Drost said as she looks forward to her travel to the Pirates’ spring training camp.
Drost is the only child of Beverly and Dennis Drost of 125 Pine Ave., Kane.
While in high school, she was a star player on the girls basketball team. During her four-year career, she scored 926 points to rank among the all-time scoring leaders. She made 93 three-point shots during her career and had 152 assists, 215 steals and 33 blocked shots.
A two-time Allegheny Mountain League (AML) all-star, Drost also was considered as an outstanding defensive player. She was selected to the District 9 all-star team and played in the District 9 all-star game in DuBois.
Drost also participated in girls’ track and girls’ soccer at Kane High School and served on the Student Council.
Drost attended California University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 2007 with a degree as an athletic trainer.
“I always wanted to stay involved in sports,” she said.
In 2008, Drost graduated from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla. near Fort Lauderdale with a masters’ degree in sports administration.
“I decided I wanted to work for a professional sports organization,” Drost said in explaining her decision to seek a masters in sports administration.
As a graduate student, Drost worked as an intern for the Florida Panthers, a National Hockey League team. With her masters degree in hand, she was twice interviewed for a job with the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
“They wanted someone who was bilingual,” Drost said.
Drost returned home to Kane in October 2008 and began looking on the internet for a job in her chosen field. She applied for a position of “inside sales representative” with the Pirates.
“Hundreds apply for these jobs,” Drost said. “It may have been the luck of the draw that I even was called for an interview.”
Just before Christmas in 2008, the Pirates told Drost she had been chosen for the job. She began work in January 2009.
“My job was to make ‘cold’ calls to try to sell game tickets and ticket packages,” Drost said. “I’d make 70 to 100 calls a day. I had never done sales before so I was out of my comfort zone.”
Since the Pirates have had 17 consecutive losing seasons, Drost said asking fans to buy tickets at times was “a tough sell.”
She said many rejected her sales pitch because “they knew there were tickets available at the gate.” Others simply hung up on her.
Drost persevered and in seven months on the job generated $63,000 in ticket sales.
“I came in early and stayed late,” Drost said in discussing her daily grind. “I knew you had to start somewhere so I worked hard. I was passionate about my job.”
Her dedication and work ethic paid off.
In late July last year, the Pirates named Drost as their coordinator of premium seating.
“I love what I’m doing,” Drost said. “I have good people to work with and the job is never boring.”
Drost has fond memories of her childhood in Kane and remembers taking the hunter safety course so she could hunt with her father and other family members.
In her job with the Pirates, Drost often mingles with current and former players who are called upon to converse with key customers and sign autographs at special events.
She maintains a professional relationship with the players.
“I don’t get ‘star-struck,’” Drost said. “They’re just people, too.”
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 March 2010 )
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