PAPILLION, Neb. (Friday April 23, 2021) – The Union Omaha front office is excited to announce a promotion and several additions to its staff ahead of the 2021 season.
James Cahillelis has been promoted to Director of Soccer Operations after serving as the club’s director of sales during its inaugural season in 2020.
Andrea Bedore joined the club’s front office as Assistant General Manager of Sales. She has worked for the Omaha Storm Chasers since 2005 and has served in different roles since.
Justin Rolfes is the new Director of Marketing and Communications for the club. The Brewster, N.Y., native has spent his career in marketing and has lived in Omaha since graduating from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he played football for the Lopers, in 2008.
Aniya Tate, an Omaha native, joins the club’s front office as the organizations’ Human Resources Manager and Sales Assistant. Previously, Tate worked for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Lincoln Saltdogs. Tate graduated from the University of Nebraska Lincoln with a major in business administration.
Blake Paris joins Union Omaha as a Corporate Sales Executive after working as an Account Executive for the Reno Aces. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Midland University in 2017 and a master’s in sports management from Southern New Hampshire University in 2019.
Zach Ricketts joins Union Omaha as Head Groundskeeper after spending six seasons with the Oakland Athletics – three at the training complex in Arizona and three at the Oakland Coliseum. The Galesburg, Ill., native played two sports at Knox College and interned with the Burlington Bees, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers before later working for the Beloit Snappers.
Leighann Westfall is the Community Relations and Special Events Coordinator for the club. The Houston native and Northwestern State graduate previously managed collegiate events for SMU and LSU while working on the events team for the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Tony Boone joins the club as Media and Public Relations Manager. Boone has 20 years of experience as a reporter in the newspaper industry, for fifteen of those years he worked for the Omaha World-Herald and was the beat reporter for the Omaha Storm Chasers.
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, a member of USL League One, is the only professional soccer team in the state of Nebraska. USL League One is a United States Soccer Federation-sanctioned professional men’s soccer league that occupies the third tier of the American soccer landscape, below USL Championship (tier two) and Major League Soccer (tier one). Union Omaha plays its home matches at Werner Park in Sarpy County, also home to the Omaha Storm Chasers of Minor League Baseball. The team is led by Head Coach Jay Mims on the field and by Peter Marlette in the front office.
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