By Brenda Kahn
After 17 years as a communications pro at the SF Giants organization, Shana Willens Daum has a lot to crow about, including three World Series wins during her tenure — and she has the rings to prove it. Club members attending the October lunch got a thrill from seeing the bulky and blingy his-and-hers rings up close, and trying them on. (A lucky few won impressive ring replicas in a drawing at the lunch.)
The ring display capped a fast-paced recounting by Daum of all the planning and prep that go into outreach for a Major League team. While the players are taking a post-season break, her office is ramping up for the 2016 season, which will launch with a Fan Fest in mid-February.
There’s never a dull moment for Daum—whose title is Vice President, Public Affairs and Community Relations—with the staff of four in her office juggling a dizzying line up of projects and player appearances. A highlight of her outreach efforts from this past season was the team’s first-ever LEGO Day, which featured a life-size statue of Buster Posey made out of 15,000 of the tiny plastic bricks. On a more somber note, Daum planned a special commemoration for a game that fell on 9/11 and a mental health/suicide prevention day at the ballpark, among numerous other special events
Another task that falls under her purview is getting players to sign the mountains of items that the team uses as giveaways throughout the year—and she is going to gift the club with a signed item or two for the PR Round Table auction at the holiday party.