"The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, it's part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again. Oh... people will come. People will most definitely come."
--Excerpt of quote from James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams
One August 11, with the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins fighting for first place in the American League Central Division, people "most definitely" came to U.S. Cellular field in Chicago to watch two of the most exciting teams in baseball this season. With more than 35,000 fans in attendance, JULIE's 8-1-1 public service announcements and safe digging messages appeared on the centerfield Video Board and left field Matrix Board.
Prior to the 8/11 Day game, JULIE Executive Director Mark Frost, along with members of the Board of Directors and staff, posed for an on-field photo with Southpaw, the popular mascot for the White Sox, holding a shovel. JULIE staff also distributed eco-friendly flower seed packets and 8-1-1 safe digging information in the centerfield concourse are to fans. Information on the packets encouraged fans to "Play it Safe this Season" and included the JULIE and White Sox logos along with a reminder to call 8-1-1. As part of a national Common Ground Alliance (CGA) initiative, August 11 served as a natural reminder for excavators and the general public to call 8-1-1 prior to digging.
In a statewide survey of Illinois residents who indicated that they had done a recent digging project, more than 60 percent of residents were most likely to watch or attend baseball games on a regular basis as part of their leisure activities (ranked second only to football). With this in mind, during 11 home games in April to coincide with National Safe Digging Month and three additional dates during the season, JULIE's "Call 8-1-1 Before You Dig" message was posted on the centerfield Video and left field Matrix boards at the ballpark.
"As part of an annual process, we review out education and safety campaign and consider all opportunities to reach our target audiences throughout the state of Illinois," said Mark A. Frost, Executive Director of JULIE, Inc. "The White Sox are a first-class organization committed to helping us promote our safety message and we appreciate their commitment to our not-for-profit mission. With a growing national trend of homeowners focusing on outdoor beautification and home improvement projects instead of selling their homes, this strategic partnership provided JULIE with a new platform for our proactive outreach efforts."
Fans joined JULIE and the White Sox for an Earth Day/Weekend Celebration event on April 22-24 and during games on May 6, August 11 and October 1. The White Sox offered specially priced tickets to all JULIE, Inc. employees and friends. More than 800 tickets were purchased by fans through this opportunity.
"Due to these types of creative efforts, our call volume in August increased more than 7 percent compared to the same month last year," Frost continued. "We are very proud of our successful campaign with the White Sox organization and look forward to potentially expanding this partnership next year." In addition, on August 11, more than 63 million visitors came to Web sites where JULIE's "Call 8-11 Before You Dig" message was placed via a JULIE statewide news release. Sites included AOL, Yahoo, Finance, Construction Journal, Earth Times, Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune, PJStar, Quad Cities Online, WAND-TV (Peoria), WGEM-TV (Quincy), WHBF-TV (Quad Cities), WLS-TV (Chicago), WREX-TV (Rockford) and the Rockford Register Star.
Based in Joliet, JULIE, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting the importance of notifying the one-call center and safe-digging practices across Illinois. Since its inception in 1974, JULIE has logged over 22 million calls and its annual call volume of 1 million makes it once of the largest industry one-call systems in the United States. More than 40 percent of notifications are entered online by professional excavators and homeowners through Remote Ticket Entry and E-Request. Currently JULIE has more than 1,780 member. For more information please visit here.
And now back to the game... for those fans that attended the August 11 game, John Danks pitched eight sharp innings and the White Sox beat Minnesota 6-1 to move back into first-place tie with the Twins in the American League Central Division. Go-Go White Sox!
By: Kevin Chmura
Source: Damage Prevention PROfessional (free subscription)
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