The Thunder, presented by NJM Insurance, is pleased to announce in conjunction with the Eastern League that Lydia Rios has been nominated as the Eastern League’s Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year award. The Rawlings Award honors an outstanding woman executive from either Major League or Minor League Baseball and will be officially presented during the 2019 Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego on December 9.
“Entering our 26th season in 2019, Lydia put together ideas that brought fresh energy to our staff to help celebrate another great year of Thunder baseball,” said Thunder GM/COO Jeff Hurley. “The overall experience she has brought to the Thunder over the past five seasons is evident. Lydia has provided leadership and direction to an already strong sales staff. She continues to work with all members of the sales team to help everyone improve. Numbers alone can show she has had an immense impact on the Trenton Thunder organization, yet her commitment to excellence goes above and beyond just numbers. Since rising to her Vice President role, Lydia has expanded her job description to help in every area of need. She stepped in to assist on some operation projects during the off-season, expanded her role on game days, and was an integral part in helping the Thunder reach our 10 millionth fan during the 2019 season.”
A life-long resident of Mercer County, NJ, Lydia brought over 25 years of sales experience in the Central Jersey marketplace to the Thunder when she joined the organization as the Director of Marketing & Sponsorship prior to the 2015 season. She previously led the sales department for 14 years at 94.5 WPST Radio as the General Sales Manager and prior to that as the Director of Advertising Sales for The Trentonian newspaper. Lydia resides in Hamilton, NJ with her husband Ruben and three sons, Tyler, Gehrig and Aaron.
Lydia earned her nomination of Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year for her significant contributions and leadership among the Thunder staff. Lydia was promoted to Vice President, Marketing & Sponsorships in October 2017 and is heavily involved with large-scale capital improvement projects in the ballpark. Her key initiatives include the development of Thunder Road, an entertainment area behind section 211, the creation of “Fun Town”, a new dessert zone opened for the 2018 season, the renovations and Naming Rights agreement for the Luxury Suite Level and the development of the Thunder’s participation in Copa de la Diversion in the 2019 season.
“Lydia’s engagement with the Latino community in our area helped make our first season as El Trueno de Trenton a successful one,” said Jeff Hurley. “Her tireless efforts created one of our most rewarding programs in 2019 and her continued engagement will make memories to last a lifetime for our fans.”
For more information on Thunder baseball visit www.TrentonThunder.com or call 609-394-3300.
