Hey guys!  I just finished my first week on the job at The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and it has been quite an experience thus far!  I arrived in town last Friday, and I must say that my first impression of Cooperstown was that of an unbelievably beautiful place.  The focal point of the small "village" is a large 9-mile long body of water, Ostego Lake, which is just gorgeous.  But this town is the perfect setting to house the best of what our Nation's past-time has to offer.

I started my first day of orientation on Monday, along with 26 other interns.  We've all bonded quickly by living together in the dorms, and my internship coordinator (a former Baseball Hall of Fame intern) herself described the living situation quite aptly as "the Real World--Cooperstown." Everyone's been great so far, but it is definitely an adjustment moving back into a college dorm after being away from that environment for three years, but it's good in many ways.

Early on in orientation we got the opportunity to meet Peggy Steele, a very kind and strong woman who founded the internship program.  Peggy's idea to start the Frank & Peggy Steele Internship Program, came after her husband, Frank, passed away in 2000.  Peggy described Frank as a passionate and generous man who derived much joy in helping talented youths reach and go beyond what they were capable of in life.  The Steele's had long been owners of a collection company in Philadelphia, and had been quite generous in their support of the Hall of Fame, and now Peggy has been quite generous in helping over 100 interns, {in the 5 years the program), fulfil their dreams of working at the Hall and enhance their careers for a lifetime after their summers spent in Cooperstown.  I was very excited to meet Peggy, and am forever grateful for the opportunity she has afforded me.  On Tuesday, we were also addressed by Dale Petroskey, the President of the Baseball Hall of Fame, who was very impressive and inspiring in his speech to us. After orientation was over the work began.  As an intern in the Membership Department, I discovered that the bulk of my responsibilities will be in selling memberships, dealing with the public in a customer service role, and working on weekly marketing projects that my supervisors have put together for us.  We have 4 students interning in Membership, and it appears that we have as heavy a workload as any other department.  I spent much of the week trying to learn the ins and outs of the computer program "Razor's Edge" used by Membership, and getting comfortable working at the Membership desk.  I really like my supervisors Ken and Jason, because of their friendly and laid-back style of management.  I feel as though working in this department will be a challenge for me, because I don't have a large background in Marketing and Sales, but I think the experience I will gain will prove to be invaluable.  So I'm really trying to approach this summer as a learning experience.

On June 23, the rest of the Steele interns and I will be traveling to Philadelphia to attend a Phillies game at the invitation of Peggy Steele.  We will get to linger around the field while the players are taking batting practice and preparing for the game, and we have an assignment to interview and write and article about any employee of the team that we can get to talk.  It's sounds like fun, and what is really cool is that after the game Peggy is having all of us over to her house for a roast and time to get to know her more.

I feel like this summer is going to fly by, but there are so many great perks to being an intern here, that I almost feel guilty for being in this position.  When Hall Fame Induction Weekend roles around at the end of July this town will be crazy with all the fans coming to see Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs be inducted.  I'm looking forward to what my role will be then, and will keep you posted with it all right here. Well, I better get ready for work tomorrow, but I'll update things soon.

Take care,

Sean

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