June 1, 2010

Alumni Spotlight:  Sarah Marten

Sarah Marten

Eastern Illinois University Communication Studies graduate Sarah Marten (B.A. ’03) is using her communication skills to forge a career in professional baseball.

Marten is the director of community relations for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Allentown, Pa. Lehigh Valley, the Class AAA franchise for the Philadelphia Phillies, is one of the most successful minor league baseball franchises in the country. Last year, the IronPigs had the second highest attendance in all of minor league baseball, as 640,000 fans went through the turnstiles.

Marten is in her third year at Lehigh Valley, where she coordinates all of the team’s non-profit and community outreach efforts. In the last two years, she has helped raise $224,000 that the IronPigs have donated to local non-profit organizations. She is also in charge of all of the team’s advertising and media buys.

Before moving to Pennsylvania, Marten spent three seasons as director of community relations for the Fresno Grizzlies, which is the Class AAA franchise for the San Francisco Giants. She supervised the Grizzlies’ non-profit foundation, including fund-raising and construction for a $500,000 rubberized baseball field for kids with disabilities.

A native of Lincoln, Ill., Marten got her start in sports communication by working as an intern for ABC Sports at the Indianapolis 500 between her junior and senior years of college. That led to a nearly two-year stint as a production assistant for ABC on Monday Night Football and Indy Racing League events.

Marten is not the only Eastern Illinois Communication Studies graduate working for Lehigh Valley. Justin Price, who graduated in 2009, is currently working as a ticketing intern for the IronPigs.