New Fire GM brings pride and passion
This club is a powerhouse in this league and I’m very excited and humbled to be a part of it SAM PASCOE
NEW Townsville Fire general manager Sam Pascoe believes her local knowledge and expertise can help the club enhance its standing as a WNBL powerhouse.
Pascoe was officially introduced as the Fire’s new GM yesterday and brings more than a decade’s experience in event management, strategic planning, sponsorship servicing, and marketing.
She is well known across North Queensland after consulting on several high-profile events including the Townsville Triathlon Festival and last year’s Townsville Turf Club Winter Racing Carnival.
Pascoe described the Fire as an iconic part of the Townsville com- munity and said she was excited to bring some fresh ideas to the club as they chase their fourth WNBL championship in six years.
“Being born and bred here in Townsville I’m extremely proud and I think that this club is a powerhouse in this league and I’m very excited and humbled to be a part of it,” she said.
“You look at their stats and where they lead across the board from attendance at games to membership, they really are the powerhouse, but I do believe that there is a growth opportunity.
“I have a lot of experience in the things that are a part of this role, but also I’m very community focused and I’m really passionate about our grassroots programs and inspiring females.
“These players in this team are great role models to young girls and the whole community and I’m really excited to be a part of that and to grow those programs as well.
“I also have a daughter who plays basketball so I’m very much across basketball.”
The Fire are preparing for a new era following Suzy Batkovic’s retirement while they’ve also had big changes off the court with former GM Richard Goodbody moving on after five years.
Fire chair Michelle Morton said they had attracted applicants from across the country for the GM role, but the board felt Pascoe’s passion for the club and the Townsville community set her apart.
“She had the most experience with respect to events of all the applicants, but more importantly she had the most passion. She was interested in what we could do with the Fire,” Morton said.
“She was passionate about the opportunities that existed through our community engagement and our partners and I think we could see in Sam that she will be able to hit the ground running.”
Pascoe said one of her priorities would be pushing for more TV coverage for the Fire, who featured on Fox Sports just three times last season compared to eight games for the Melbourne Boomers.
“It’s very clear that we need TV games and we need to be able to be seen and the girls deserve that. They deserve to be on a national platform,” Pascoe said.