Major League Soccer announced on Thursday that Vancouver Whitecaps FC won ten of the league’s year-end awards recognizing individuals and clubs for outstanding contributions off the playing field in 2015. Award winners were honoured at the 2015 MLS Club and Executive Awards Ceremony.
Whitecaps FC were honoured with the Commissioner’s Club for Full Season Tickets for the first time in club history and were also named to the President’s Club as one of the top sales teams in the league for total sales, group sales, and renewals.
The club’s digital media senior manager Adam Rootman was honoured with the Digital Lead of the Year award. Whitecaps FC’s digital team is also supported by digital media coordinator Trevor Leach.
Several Whitecaps FC sales representatives were also individually recognized.
Jennifer Wills was named 2015 Gold Level Groups Representative of the Year, placing her in the top 10 in the league for the second year in a row. Darren Mackay was awarded at the Silver Level, while Seth Gordon and Jackie Lu-Shao were awarded at the Bronze Level.
Whitecaps FC fan services manager Josh Nanavaty and fan services representatives Kaitlyn Cyr and Bianca Bertelli were also recognized for their achievements in 2015, managing over 1,000 season ticket member accounts and achieving account renewal rates over 90%.
2015 MLS Club and Executive Award Winners:
Doug Hamilton Executive of the Year – Marc de Grandpre, New York Red Bulls
Ticket Sales Executive of the Year – Chris Gallagher, Orlando City SC
Corporate Partnerships Executive of the Year – Jared Shawlee, San Jose Earthquakes
Marketing Executive of the Year – Teresa Tatlonghari, Orlando City SC
Ticket Sales Team of the Year – New England Revolution
Corporate Partnerships Team of the Year – Sporting Kansas City
Marketing Team of the Year – LA Galaxy
Public Relations Team of the Year – Sporting Kansas City
Partnership Marketing Activation of the Year – Orlando City SC (Publix Tailgate)
Ticketing Sales Innovation Award presented by the National Sales Center – New York Red Bulls (Red Membership Campaign)
Club Retailer of the Year – LA Galaxy
Marisa Colaiano Community Relations Department of the Year presented by MLS WORKS – LA Galaxy
Digital Lead of the Year – Adam Rootman, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Social Media Activation of the Year – New York Red Bulls (#NYisRED)
Digital Content Experience of the Year – Montreal Impact (#MarquonsIhistoire)
Security Staff of the Year – New York Red Bulls
Operations Staff of the Year – Columbus Crew SC
Supporter Liaison of the Year – Darin Canova, Sporting Kansas City
Team Administrator of the Year presented by Sportscorp Travel – Erik Ustruck, Orlando City SC
Athletic Training Staff of the Year presented by Mueller Sports Medicine – Columbus Crew SC
Equipment Manager of the Year – Sam Younie, Portland Timbers
