Captains name Neil Stein General Manager
With The Lake County Captains, class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, announced today that Neil Stein has been promoted to General Manager and Jen Yorko has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of the club following the resignation of Vice President and General Manager Brad Seymour, who has accepted the role of President with the Chicago Bulls new NBA Developmental League basketball franchise in Hoffman Estates, IL.
Stein, a native of New Philadelphia, OH, joined the Captains prior to the 2008 season as the club’s Assistant General Manager and is entering his ninth season with the Captains. In his current role, Stein has overseen the organization’s corporate partnerships and he has also spearheaded several nationally recognized promotions, including oversight of the annual Cleveland Sports History Night, celebrating the highs and lows of sports in Cleveland, which won 2009’s ESPN The Magazine Minor League Promotion of the Year, and has become a staple each Captains season.
In addition to his duties at the Captains, Neil is also extremely involved in the community as a Board Member of the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce, member of the Lakeland Foundation Next Generation Cohort, and is a volunteer youth coach for flag football, youth baseball and CYO basketball for St. Mary of the Assumption in Mentor.
Yorko, the most tenured member of the Captains organization has been promoted to Assistant General Manager. The Painesville native joined the Captains as an Intern in 2007 and has overseen all Ticket and Merchandise Operations for the team since 2009. Jen, a graduate of Lake Erie College, has also been heavily involved in managing annual events for Lake County’s non-profit community arm, Captains Charities.
"Our Ownership Group would like to thank Brad for his many years of service to the Lake County Captains organization. Brad's many efforts on our behalf have enabled our Group to significantly advance our Organizational Goals and growth as a contributor to the quality of life in our community, for which we thank him”, explained Captains Chairman Peter Carfagna. “We look forward to continuing to work with Neil Stein as our new GM to build upon the very firm foundation that Brad has helped us build in Lake County. We therefore wish Brad well in his new career endeavors as he leaves the Captains in "ship shape," so as to allow us to continue to work with Neil and his senior staff to lead us to even greater accomplishments in 2016 and beyond."
Prior to joining the Captains, Stein worked for the Toledo Mud Hens for eight seasons, beginning as a ticket department intern at Ned Skeldon Stadium in 2000 before moving into a full-time role as a Group and Season Ticket Sales Associate. He was promoted to Corporate Sales Associate where he spent five seasons before moving to the Captains organization.
Seymour departs Northeast Ohio following seven seasons in Lake County, and a total of ten years working with Captains chairman Peter Carfagna, as the longest-tenured General Manager in franchise history. His time with the Captains has been highlighted by increased revenues, improved profitability and the growth of non-baseball events hosted at Classic Park. The California native was responsible for developing outside events that included the annual Joe Haden Celebrity Softball Game, high school football games and several concerts.
Following the Captains only championship in 2010, Brad oversaw the development and introduction of a successful team identity and logo re-branding for the organization, the first sweeping changes to the Lake County image since the club began in 2003.
The Captains open the 2016 Midwest League season, its 14th in Lake County, on Thursday, April 7 against Fort Wayne. Ticket and promotional information is available on the team’s official website www.CaptainsBaseball.com.
POSTED 02/01/2016 23:02
Lake County Sentinel
