Convo: Mike Veeck May 20, 2005

Mike Veeck, president and part owner of six wildly successful minor league baseball teams, including the St. Paul Saints, will give a convocation address titled ?Fun is Good? at 10:50 on Friday, May 20, at the Carleton College Skinner Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

Veeck will discuss his ?fun is good? philosophy, which he has used to turn six money-losing or start-up minor league baseball teams into a $25 million business. His main marketing strategy has been to come up with innovative and wacky promotions such as Enron Night, Lawyer Appreciation Day, and free admission for pregnant women on Labor Day. This strategyhas drawn fans from outside the die-hard baseball fan crowd, which in the minor leagues is not an especially large group. He has been featured on 60 Minutes, Sports Illustrated, NPR, People, Fortune and countless other media outlets.

In his marketing strategy, Veeck has followed the lead of his father, Hall of Fame baseball club owner and showman Bill Veeck, whose post-game fireworks and exploding scoreboards have become legendary. The elder Veeck even gave his son his first marketing job with the Chicago White Sox. Veeck?s first idea, Disco Demolition Night, was a disaster and got him black listed in major league baseball. However, his brand of outrageous promotions found a niche in the minor leagues.

Veeck applies his philosophy not just to baseball games but to the workplace as well and he believes that others should do the same. His employees, who share in his fun-is-good atmosphere, are ?the most productive and loyal folks I?ve ever been around.? He has written a book with Pete Williams titled ?Fun is Good: How to Create Joy & Passion into Your Workplace & Career,? in which he argues that businesses suffers when employees aren?t having fun at work, especially in customer service. Also, he gives suggestions for what companies should look for in applicants and how employees can forge a fun-is-good career path.

For more information and disability accommodations, call Carleton?s college relations office at (507) 646-4308.