Rob Vanstone: The team behind the team — employees pitch in to honour George Reed, Wendy Kelly and the 2013 Roughriders

At long last, there was a moment to exhale. 

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Oct. 7 home game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats had just concluded — as had a week of morning-through-night marathons at Mosaic Stadium. 

The community-owned Canadian Football League team had honoured George Reed, six days after he passed away, in addition to celebrating the 2013 Roughriders team and the late Wendy Kelly as they entered the SaskTel Plaza of Honour. 

The game did not unfold in a manner any of us wanted — Hamilton won, 38-13 — but nobody in and around the Roughriders’ business office was overly inclined to leave. 

“I was sitting on the Champions Deck and watching the 2013 team still socializing and watching George Reed’s family still socializing,” Director of Marketing Jacqueline Hurlbert reflects. “It was really that end to a whole week of seeing everyone together. 

“It was that moment where you’re like, ‘This is why we do it — for these interactions, for these moments, for everybody to be together. That’s who we do it for.’ 

“It was that sobering moment where you’re just like, ‘OK, that all happened, and it’s now over.’ ” 

Only then could everyone truly sit back, begin to unwind, and process the enormity and extent of the myriad tasks that were inexhaustibly performed during a period that began late on a Sunday afternoon and concluded near mid-evening the following Saturday. 

We all knew months ahead of time that it was going to be a hectic few days. That is a given during a week that is to culminate in the Plaza inductions. 

However, the number of moving pieces increased exponentially this year due to the enshrinement of an entire team — the 2013 Grey Cup champions — and the resulting flurry of invitations, airline reservations, hotel bookings and other logistical issues. (Keep in mind that, in a typical year, there are two or three travelling parties — not several dozen.) 

In addition to welcoming back several dozen members of the 2013 team, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first home-field Grey Cup victory in Roughriders history, there was another landmark to consider. 

Kelly, the first female to serve on the Roughriders’ Board of Directors, became a trailblazer once more on July 20. That morning, it was announced that she would be the first woman to enter the Plaza. 

Sadly, it was a posthumous induction. She passed away in 2018, but the magnitude of her contributions carried the day when the Plaza’s selection committee met last winter. 

Coincidentally, she also had a connection to the grand event of 10 years ago, having served as the Production Manager of the 2013 Grey Cup Gala. 

So everything seemed to be fitting together perfectly as members of the Roughriders staff prepared for their final few hours of relaxation on a Sunday, knowing full well that Monday would mark the beginning of a crazy week. 

Then Craig Reynolds received a notification. 

George Reed had died, one day shy of his 84th birthday. 

Reynolds, the Roughriders’ President and CEO, took a few minutes to digest the devastating news before passing it along to the staff members whose jobs would be most impacted. 

And so the work week began, one day earlier than anticipated, on an indescribably sad note. 

“Going into that week, we all thought we were at full capacity with just managing the 2013 team coming in,” Hurlbert says. 

“As an entire staff, we really had representation from every single department. People were doing jobs other than their normal duties to help facilitate the 2013 team and making sure that they and the Kelly family had a phenomenal experience.  

“Then you add on the loss of George Reed and we found another gear. Everyone shifted into what we didn’t know was another gear and took on more — and we were able to execute the entire week without dropping anything.  

“I think that was the biggest part. We knew the weight of the week and how much it meant to pay tribute to George for what he has done for this organization and for what his family has done for this organization and the province. 

“We wanted to give that opportunity to fans, but also recognize our 2013 team and what accomplishments they’ve had and what they mean to our fans as well. So it was definitely this dichotomy that was almost a perfect storm.” 

With Director of Retail Operations Mark Habicht playing a key leadership and organizational role, plans were rolled out for No. 34 jersey patches, commemorative T-shirts (with proceeds earmarked for the newly established George Reed Legacy Fund) and other forms of tribute. 

Arielle Zerr, the Director of Communications, was in charge of co-ordinating and disseminating the announcement of Reed’s passing. Accordingly, she reached out to members of the social media, online, video production and writing teams. 

One of the first employees to receive a call was Seth Strankman — Manager, Game Entertainment and Events — who had been working on the Oct. 7 blueprint even before the Roughriders’ game themes were announced in April. 

“Seth just sprung into action to completely redesign all aspects of game day to incorporate the recognition of George, knowing full well that we want to do the best job we can for our fans,” Reynolds says. 

“That’s just an example of how somebody had put months and months and months of work into lead-up, but then we had to pivot. “ 

Suddenly, sadly, there was a need to revise a considerable portion of the timing sheet for Roughriders versus Hamilton. The erasures were widespread, considering that precise job titles were often off the table during the first week of October. 

En masse, Roughriders employees pitched in to perform sundry tasks, without complaint or hesitation.  

To cite one example, consider Rob Harrison.  

The Roughriders’ Manager, Volunteer and Guest Experience, moonlighted as an organizer of the drivers while also handling some of the ground transportation of members of the 2013 Roughriders, as they arrived at the airport, one by one or two by two. 

He enlisted the assistance of several people from outside the organization, such as Yvonne Harrison (Rob’s wife), Lovella Jones, Ron Jones, James Katryniuk, Allan Kerr, Carla Pieracci, Gord Prince, Laurie Slatnik, Rod Slatnik and Verne Bolen. 

And then there was the formidable Team Karina. 

Karina Peterson, the Roughriders’ Community Operations Co-ordinator, embraced the not-inconsiderable challenge of co-ordinating the many moving pieces of Plaza week, in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation (SRF). 

Peterson collaborated most closely with a group that included Hurlbert, Strankman, Zerr, Kim Gallagher (Director, Talent Management and People Operations), Rebecca Perigny (Manager, Marketing and Community), Brittany Boczulak (Talent Management and Business Operations Co-ordinator), Ally Chmielnicki (Business Intelligence Analyst), Jessica Gelowsky (Executive Assistant to the CEO), Marnie Forsberg (Project Adminstration Co-ordinator, SRF), Emma Brezinski (Accountant), Caleb Blundell (Operations and Events Co-ordinator, SRF), Thomas Judek (Communciations Co-ordinator), Shiane de Jong (Administrative Assistant) and Mitchell Saretzky (Game Entertainment and Events Intern). 

“I spent hours at my desk preparing for four days where I didn’t sit down once,” Peterson recalls. “We had different staff members assigned to each group of players. Each had four or five players or staff from the 2013 team assigned to them.  

“Every player had their individual itinerary, based on if they were doing content or media or store signings or whatever it looked like. Every player had their own contact, whether it was Ally or Kim or Jess or Shiane.  

“We had Rob in charge of drivers. We had a full list of people driving vehicles. We had lists for Tour 1, Tour 2, every Party in the Park table, every table assignment at Plaza, a list of every item that needed to be autographed at a signing, when they were eating their meals, who was getting what meal and where — all of that within one gigantic Excel spreadsheet.
“When everyone arrived, it was like, ‘Open that and just fire away.’ ” 

For an entire week, the Roughriders’ business office looked like Grand Central Terminal, with an assortment of people moving to and fro. 

‘To see everybody come together the way they did with just a desire to do the best they possibly could in all facets, regardless of their roles within the organization, was really admirable,” Reynolds says.  

“That is one thing that has been a constant with this organization. Everybody just wanted to pitch in and do the absolute best they possibly could to represent the organization in a professional way. 

“I saw it day in, day out. From the moment we heard of George’s passing, people stepped up. We started meeting. There was just a desire to do as much as we possibly could and people putting up their hands to do things that certainly aren’t in their job description, but they just wanted to do that to recognize George.” 

Most visibly, there was the preparation of a video tribute that was shown on the MaxTron and, as it turned out, to viewers of the telecast. 

The video was produced by Morgan Fleury (Digital Media Co-ordinator), who consulted with Hurlbert and Blake Tiedeman (Digital Media Producer), and voiced by Scott William. Tyler Daku (Social Lead) wrote the script. 

“The people at TSN knew how much George meant not just to Rider fans, but also to the CFL,” Strankman says. “He wasn’t just a Rider. He was a CFL all-time great. 

“Working with them to get pre-game timing and all the approvals to make sure that everything was good for broadcast across Canada probably took up the majority of my time.” 

Free time was at a premium — or utterly non-existent, for that matter — for everyone in the Roughriders’ employ, throughout the week. 

“I would start at 8 or 9 in the morning and I would be leaving at 8 or 9 at night,” Peterson says. “I’d get up to leave and I’d be thinking, ‘I don’t know what I did today.’ 

“In my normal job, I’m doing something like Fan Day or Autograph Day and it’s this one thing and you take it and you break it down on a really in-depth scale. 

“But because this was so high-level, so much of it was just conversations. You need to go talk to Mark and figure out what he needs signed for the autograph signing. Then you need to figure out how we’re getting 60 people from the field into the Rider Store. What does that look like logistically? 

“It was very different from what I’m used to. It was a matter of knowing who was working on what and making sure that all those pieces were coming together.” 

One by one, they did. 

Looking at it now, it all seems like a blur. It was Sunday … and then it was Saturday. 

Before the game, quarterback Darian Durant led his teammates from the 2013 team on to the field while holding the Grey Cup over his head. 

Running back Jamal Morrow — like Reed, a graduate of Washington State University — led the 2023 Roughriders out of the tunnel while carrying a No. 34 flag. 

Following the video tribute, Reed’s daughter Georgette spoke to the crowd and asked the fans to participate in a “moment of celebration” in memory of her father. 

The wisdom of that idea, which was suggested by Georgette on the afternoon of the game, was underlined when the crowd responded with a standing ovation. 

At halftime, the focus shifted to the 2013 Plaza inductees, although Reed was remembered at various junctures in the game.  

“When you see a team that won a Grey Cup at home and it was our most-recent Grey Cup, that’s big-picture,” Peterson says. “That’s really cool to a lot of people — and to me as well, because the football side of it and being in this job are new for me.  

“I was emotional so many times that I got to be a part of the first female inducted into the Plaza of Honour. That was really cool for me on the planning side, to be planning and working with 60 men and also be part of the first female inducted at the same time. It grounded me that I got to be a part of it.  

“Her family was so appreciative and so grateful. That was really heartwarming for me as well, to just see how grateful they are.  

“The first time I got to sit down with her husband Pat and explain what the weekend would look like, he got talking about Wendy. It was so cool for him to talk about her being on the board and about all these different things.  

“Getting to reflect on how lucky and privileged I am with all the women I do get to work with and how normal that is and how respected we are was really cool to me.” 

The respect was demonstrated to everyone, across the board, throughout that week and in the days that have followed.
“Every facet of the organization was involved and what everyone did was outstanding,” Reynolds marvels.  

“I was in awe of the team the whole week. I still am in awe of the team. There’s just no possible way to adequately thank them.” 

The ultimate objective, of course, was to thank George Reed, Wendy Kelly and the 2013 Roughriders. 

“Although the game on the field didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, there’s a bit of you that’s very proud of the work that you and the rest of your colleagues did to make sure that the night was perfect for George’s family and for the inductees,” Strankman says. 

“Our goal was to make sure that the families felt appreciated and understood how much their loved ones meant and contributed to the Riders.  

“As soon as we finished, there were some nice comments and there was some nice feedback coming in, so that always feels good.  

“So it was a chance to take a little bit of a deep breath … and then I went and insulated my garage over the rest of the weekend.” 

THE 2023 SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS 

BUSINESS OFFICE STAFF 

President-CEO: Craig Reynolds. 

Chief Financial Officer: Kent Paul. 

Chief Brand Officer: Anthony Partipilo. 

Executive Assistant to the CEO: Jessica Gelowsky. 

Manager, Operations and Facilities: Josh Shaw. 

Manager, Volunteer and Guest Experience: Rob Harrison. 

Director, Talent Management and People operations: Kim Gallagher. 

Talent Management and Business Operations Co-ordinator: Brittany Boczulak. 

Director, Communications: Arielle Zerr. 

Director, Marketing: Jacqueline Hurlbert. 

Community Operations Co-ordinator: Karina Peterson. 

Digital Media Producer: Blake Tiedeman. 

Graphic Designer: Angela Bailey.

Graphic Design Intern: Julia Vaughan 

Social Lead: Tyler Daku

Business Intelligence Specialist: Ally Chmielnicki. 

Digital Media Co-ordinator: Morgan Fleury. 

Communications Co-ordinator: Thomas Judek. 

Director, Partnerships: Nick Mazurak. 

Senior Sales and Partner Relations Executive: Kevin Clive. 

Sales and Partner Relations Executive: Zack Evans. 

Partner Success Managers: Josh MacNeil; Jessy Kindopp. 

Manager, Premium Hospitality and Sales: Daniel Klatt. 

Director, Finance: Dallas Skulski. 

Manager, Finance: Eva Rennie; Lawrence Ansah-Addo. 

Accountants: Emma Brezinski; Chloe Le. 

CRM Programmer Analyst: John Phillips. 

Manager, Game Entertainment and Events: Seth Strankman. 

Event Co-ordinator: Eva Fletcher. 

Stadium Operation and Events: Cory Weatherston. 

Game Entertainment and Events Intern: Mitchell Saretzky. 

Administrative Assistant: Shiane de Jong. 

RETAIL OPERATIONS 

Director, Retail Operations: Mark Habicht. 

Assistant, Retail Operations: Megan Herber. 

Manager, Warehouse and Retail Inventory: Chris Colbow. 

Warehouse Lead: Carol Csenar. 

Webstore Merchandise Lead: Rebecca Mills. 

Retail Store Manager, Mosaic Stadium: Kevin Flood. 

Assistant Manager, Mosaic Stadium: Karen Magnus. 

Retail Store Manager, Saskatoon Midtown: Peggy Brooks. 

Assistant Manager, Midtown: Karen Gjerde. 

TICKET STAFF 

Director, Ticketing Operations: Jenn Senger. 

Manager, Ticket Operations: Tia Macneil. 

Ticket Control Officer: Carol Hoeving. 

Marketing Co-ordinator, Ticketing: Neetika Mahawar. 

Manager, Ticket Sales: Allyson McDonald. 

Sales Executive: Matthew O’Krafka. 

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDER FOUNDATION 

Executive Director: Cindy Fuchs. 

Development Manager: Jonathan Halvorson. 

Project Administration Co-ordinator: Marnie Forsberg. 

Marketing Communications Associate: Karlie McGeough.