Take Me Out to the Ballpark: New York Mets, Here We Come

Last week, Talkin Tourism on Florida’s Treasure Coast (and Beyond!) touched on the importance of spring training to the Treasure Coast region with guest Tom Colucci. With the season opener scheduled for the New York Mets this Saturday at Digital Domain Park, Gary and Robin just had to do a show from the stadium. Thanks to the help of Charlotte Lombard, manager of the St. Lucie County Tourism Office, this week’s edition of the show will be broadcast from the Visitor’s Press Box, high above the diamond.

St. Lucie Mets general manager Paul Taglieri will be at the top of the batting order. Paul is in his 13th year as the St. Lucie Mets general manager, having been named Director of Florida Operations for the New York Mets in 2001. Paul spent two seasons as general manager for the Auburn Doubledays of the New York Penn League and three seasons as the assistant general manager of the Sarasota Red Sox of the Florida State League. So what are the responsibilities of a minor league team general manager? What are the prospects for the teams this year? How specifically do the teams, (both the minor and major league teams) help promote tourism on the Treasure Coast and St. Lucie County? With Paul's input, we'll have the answers to those very questions.

Helping us bridge this gap will be our second hitter, Jill Hanson. Jill is a member of the St. Lucie County Tourism Development Council and sales director for the Residence Inn in Port St. Lucie. Despite being a major Red Sox fan, Jill is very involved with the Mets through her hotel property and sponsorships. Is the bed tax revenue that is spent on the stadium a good return on investment for tourism in St. Lucie County? Jill may have the answer.

So listeners, this week it’s Take Me Out To the Ball Game along with lots of other information you need to know about things to do, places to go and how to have fun on the Treasure Coast (and Beyond!).

And if that wasn't enough, a four-pack of tickets to Saturday's season opener will be given away during the show!

Tune in tomorrow (Friday, February 25) at 10:05 a.m. On the Treasure Coast and Grand Bahama, you can tune in on WPSL1590 AM; those outside radio broadcast range, can pickup the show's livestream at http://www.wpsltv.com/.

March 6 Show Wrap-up: Domestic & International Baseball and Florida Oceanographic

This week Talkin' Tourism host Gary Guertin shared the microphone with a new guest co-host, Ed Griffith, who came dressed for the occasion in a tropical shirt, sunglasses and a cap from the Italian Baseball Team that stayed at his property (Courtyard Marriott by Marriott Hutchinson Island Oceanside/Jensen Beach)for four days.

Those who tuned in for golf-talk may have been confused; unfortunately our scheduled golf expert had a scheduling conflict, but guests Paul Taglieri, general manager of the St. Lucie Mets, and Joseph Patton, director of development for the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center, filled the hour with lots of great information

Listeners (and viewers who tuned in for the live video-stream) learned the following:

BASEBALL

• Impact of major league spring training at Tradition Field. Many businesses in the area benefit when the Mets are in town, including retail, restaurants and hotels. Once spring training ends, the minor league season begins and runs through September, so it's a full summer of baseball here on the Treasure Coast. Additionally, the fact that the Mets are here, plays to the New York market with regards to advertising and marketing this area of Florida as a tourism destination.

• Baseball entertainment is real family fun, especially in these challenging economic times.

• The World Baseball League was created to promote the sport of baseball globally.

• Many high schools from places as far away as Toms River (NJ), Germantown (PA), St. Albans (Washington D.C.) have been coming to St. Lucie County for Spring training for nearly 26 years. The estimated impact of these "regulars" on the area exceeds 5 million dollars!

FLORIDA OCEANOGRAPHIC

• The Florida Oceanographic Society (FOS), which was founded in 1964, is a membership not-for-profit with the expressed mission “to inspire environmental stewardship of Florida’s coastal ecosystems through education and research”. This is accomplished through a multitude of educational programs conducted on the site of the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center as will as outreach speakers programs.

• A key endeavor of FOS at this time is to reduce and hopefully eliminate the discharge of water from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River and to restore the natural flow into the Everglades.

• The Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center is the culmination of the vision of Mark Perry Executive Director and early founding directors. The 57 acres that comprise the campus of the Coastal Center has many unique attractions, including the Sting Ray Feeding Tank (the barbs have been removed from the rays…no danger), an incredible experience for children! The Francis Langford Visitors Center (a gift from Ms. Langford in the ‘80s) has many interactive exhibits and also displays the Francis and Ralph Evinrude collection of fish mounts. The Coastal Center also has two walking trails that pass through mangrove forests leading out to the Indian River Lagoon. Host Gary shared some thoughts on the “early years” when some of the directors including Jordan Fields, Glenn Massnick, Gary Guertin and others were carving out the trails with cutlasses. Working out of a trailer, the vision was never lost.

• A relatively new feature of the Coastal Center is the Game Fish Lagoon which has many species of native fish including snook, tarpon, and snapper. One unique resident of the lagoon is a 10 pound mullet, one of the largest mullet ever seen. The Game fish Lagoon effort was spearheaded by none other than Karl Wickstrom, owner/publisher of Florida Sportsman Magazine.

• The Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center is a major Martin County attraction. Each year approximately 50,000 visitors learn about coastal environments at the center.

• The Florida Oceanographic Center is a prime example of utilizing the Treasure Coast’s natural assets to promote eco-tourism and nature-based tourism. The center also fosters the protection and preservation of our ocean and coastal resources, which from a tourism economic point of view are priceless and irreplaceable.

Last, host Gary Guertin plugged the Big 'O' (Okeechobee) birding event and provided an “Bahamas Up Date:"

• 5th Annual Bahamas Music and Heritage Festival, March 12-14, 2009; George Town, Exuma
• Art on the Island/Seafood Fest, May 22-24,2009: Bimini
• Abaco Beach Resort at Boat Harbour, Inaugural Wahoo Championship April 2-4, 2009

To view or download the show, click HERE.