Saturday’s Gator Bowl game requires a great deal of staff work. Here are four people who have been working daily in the Gator Bowl Association offices under the East stands at Alltel Stadium:
Miriam Wishart is the smiling face behind the phones at the Gator Bowl Association office. As a receptionist, Wishart said she will not get to go to the game because she acts as a communication hub throughout game day, but that is all right with her. Being the first person you see when you enter the office, Wishart said
she has met several football celebrities, including former Jaguar Tony Boselli.
One of the most important people when it comes to the Gator Bowl is Wendy Thomas, ticket manager for the association. “Ticket Master” Thomas said though some tickets are still available, she expects a sold out stadium on game day. Thomas has been with the Gator Bowl for two years and said she is very excited about the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference championship. She will be in charge of tickets for the ACC game as well.
Besides the big game on New Year’s Day, the Gator Bowl entails many other related events like golf tournaments and welcome parties. Jennifer Strickland is the events coordinator for the Gator Bowl Association. Besides helping to coordinate each of the 14 events, Strickland said she also gets to attend each event. Her favorite event of the year is the Hall of Fame induction, which will have about 1,000 attendees.
As the Gator Bowl Association’s parade coordinator, Joe Power has been a busy man recently. For most of the week he has been on the phones relaying information to parade participants and balloon handlers. With more than 90 units in this year’s parade, Power admits that his hands are full but said the hard work is very rewarding when the parade begins. Power said one of his biggest challenges as parade coordinator will be finding parking spaces for more than 90 school buses carrying the parade’s 19 different marching bands.