MUSKEGON – There’s a new energy force behind the Muskegon Lumberjacks’ off-ice promotion effort this season.
Her name is Carly Livingston, and pretty much everything she throws herself into turns out to be a success.
That means the many fans who come out to Trinity Health Arena for more than just hockey can count on having a good time.
Livingston is the Lumberjacks’ new Director of Game Presentation. Her task will be making sure all the team’s special events – from old favorites like Star Wars Night and ZOOperStars Night to new events like Craft Beer Night and the on-ice dog races (Corgi races, to be precise) – are organized and executed effectively.
Her first big effort – the Lumberjacks’ 2022 Flannel Fest – will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday and continue right up to the Jacks’ season home opener against the Chicago Steel at 7 p.m.
[1]The main attraction at this year’s Flannel Fest, the famous Jack Pine Lumberjacks. will perform two shows on Western Avenue outside Trinity Health Arena, at 4:30 and 6 p.m.
The Jack Pine Lumberjacks, a group of genuine lumberjacks, have been entertaining crowds in the Mackinaw City area for years. Their woodsy act includes log rolling, axe throwing, chainsaw carving and other stuff that families really enjoy.
Bringing the Jack Pine Lumberjacks to town was Livingston’s idea.
“One of my co-workers saw them and told me about them,” Livingston said. “I looked into them and thought they might be outside of our budget, but we were able to work something out. I just thought they would go really well with the Lumberjacks theme.”
Livingston’s challenge, from Flannel Fest all the way through the end of the regular season, is just beginning. Her job is to make sure that fans leave the arena smiling, regardless of the outcome of the hockey game.
[2]Livingston’s task is not an easy one, because the Jacks will have 30 regular season home games this year, and every game will have a special theme.
“There’s definitely a new emphasis on promotions this year, executing them well and getting fans involved,” Livingston said. “We want fans to leave the arena feeling like they had some fun and entertainment, regardless of what happens on the ice.
“The Lumberjacks experience is a lot more than just hockey, for sure. A lot of people come out for the social events.”
Livingston, who is only 23, has learned about the Lumberjacks’ operations inside and out over the past three years.
She spent the 2020-21 season as a game operations intern, then started last season as a sponsorship intern before moving up to the post of Director of Customer Service.Andrea Rose, the Lumberjacks’ President of Business Operations, was so happy with her progress that she put her in charge of the critical game promotion effort this season, knowing she will throw everything she has into the job, like she always does.
[3]“She’s resourceful, and she doesn’t give up when an answer is not readily available,” Rose said. “She has a great personality, and she has the ability to think things through and know how our fans will react to something. She also has the pulse of the younger generation, which will make us more fun and exciting and relevant.”
The really impressive thing about Livingston is that she moved up through the Lumberjacks organization while being a full-time student-athlete at Grand Valley State University.
“There were a lot of days when she would go to class, go to practice or a meet, then would come here and work the rest of the night,” Rose said.
Livingston demonstrated her determination to succeed with the GVSU track team. She started as a walk-on and ended up with a full athletic scholarship.
[4]She did that while competing in a very difficult event – pole vaulting – something she started doing as a prep athlete at Imlay City High School on the eastern side of the state.
“Pole vaulting is hard to come across at the high school level, because the equipment is expensive and the danger level is so high, and a lot of smaller schools can’t afford it,” Livingston said. “My school was lucky enough to have the equipment. Dancers and gymnasts are kind of natural pole vaulters, and that was my background growing up.”
Livingston pushed herself hard to improve in the event and her efforts paid off in a very big way. She finished in second place in pole vaulting at the NCAA Division 2 National Track and Field Finals in 2020, and in ninth place in 2021.
“My height got a foot better, but the competition got better, too,” said Livingston, whose career-high jump was 13 feet, 5 inches.
Livingston graduated with a degree in sports management last spring, with an incredible 3.8 grade point average, and now she’s ready to attack her new job with no distractions.
[5]Livingston is determined to improve upon the successful promotion nights that have been ongoing for years.
For instance, the 13 Loves Pets Night will feature Corgis racing on the ice between periods. That was her idea.
“I knew that the Green Bay Gamblers do wiener dog races, and Chicago does turtle races,” she said. “I checked around and found out they are not hard to do and they draw huge crowds.”
She’s also very excited about the new events on the promotion calendar, like Craft Beer Night, which was yet another idea she came up with.
“Everyone likes drinking craft beer,” said Livingston, who noted that Pigeon Hill will have a beer garden on the concourse during the game that night. “It’s a great social event.”
More than anything, Livingston said she likes taking on new challenges and making them work well.
“It’s just something I’ve always been drawn to – being able to plan things out and execute them has always been an interest of mine,” she said.