Twice a month, we will utilize this blog to showcase some of the employees of Pocono Raceway.
Today, we feature Tammy Gower, Manager of Ticket Services. Tammy and her husband Steve have two sons, Jerry and Steven and three beloved dogs. Diesel is a black lab, Lana a German Shepherd and Max a Great Swiss Mountain mix. Diesel was found by her co-workers Bob and Ginny Pallo’s son when he was tied to a porch with a chain. Diesel is named after her son, a diesel mechanic. Lana was found abandoned in a field in Arkansas by her son and given a great home.
Q: When did you start working at Pocono Raceway?
Tammy: I started in the ticket office in 2005 and am in my 11th year. I am a long-time racing fan and have been a Tony Stewart fan for quite some time.
Q: What was it like when you started working at Pocono Raceway?
Tammy: I had no idea what to expect. There was an ad in the paper and I called for an interview. I needed a change, I was looking for something different. I was only supposed to be part-time/seasonal but it quickly turned into a full-time position.
Q: What’s the best part about your job?
Tammy: Being able to work in racing and to interact with our great fans. Because I’ve had customer service experience in some other things I have done and because I am a race fan, it’s easy to interact and to help our customers with any and all of their needs.”
Q: Do you have a favorite track memory?
Tammy: I got to meet Tony Stewart during a test session that was pretty exciting. Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick and all of the Stewart-Haas drivers.”
Q: Can you take us through a typical race week?
Tammy: On Monday and Tuesday, I make sure I have everything together, for example, sellers’ aprons need to be counted and all tickets and monies that go in them need to be accounted for, we need to prepare Gate 8, and RV registration. We make sure those area’s have electricity and are able to sell and print tickets, that all areas are internet capable and ready, that we have enough ticket stock at selling locations and all letters for customers arriving at certain gates are there for them to pick up. On Wednesday’s, we double and triple check to make sure we have things like electricity to be able to get the computer’s and printer’s up and running. Our Thursday starts pretty early, around 5:30 a.m. Camping opens that day so we need to make sure everything is in working order. Kevin Teel is in charge of the ticket end of it. He will make sure he has all of his validation. Brittney Krueger is in charge of RV registration and Camping. She will make sure everything is up and running and that they will be able to look up accounts and print tickets. RV registration opens at 12noon, but if we are ready before that we will start rolling them in.
On Friday’s and Saturday’s, I’m back and forth, helping wherever I am needed and can help. Sunday goes by really fast. We are selling tickets from about 7:30 a.m. Once the majority of people are inside and the race has started, I start shutting down and begin to make sure all of the draws balance out and match the reports. Then I go home and watch the remainder of the race at home.
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