Ozier ready to put stamp on Travelers
When Sophie Ozier joined the Arkansas Travelers front office as a corporate event planner in January 2017, she didn’t envision a future in which she might become the organization’s general manager.
Since then, Ozier has served as the club’s social media coordinator and its director of group sales before a promotion to assistant general manager at the end of 2020.
Then two weeks ago, just days before a vacation to the East Coast, the organization asked Ozier about her interest in replacing longtime general manager Paul Allen. The decision was easy. “I don’t think I would have said yes if you had have asked four or five years ago if this is where I saw myself or if this is what I wanted,” Ozier said. “But now, I think I do. I’m excited. I’m ready to take things over.”
Ozier, 27, officially will begin as the interim general manager in charge of business operations on Thursday. She steps in for Allen, who leaves the club for an opportunity outside of baseball after eight years as general manager and a career with the Travs dating back to 2005.
According Travelers CEO Rusty Meeks, Ozier will remain in the role through the end of the regular season, after which the organization will evaluate the position with Ozier expected to be considered for the full-time job.
“We’re going to keep things this way for the next few months and then address and make all final changes once the season ends,” Meeks said. “Right now is about getting through the baseball season and focusing on what we have to do to get through that.”
Meeks credited Allen with putting the surrounding community first and for his ability to communicate with fans at Dickey-Stephens Park and around the region. Allen also was integral in the club’s 2013 rebrand, lending his creativity to a campaign that introduced new logos, uniforms and identity for the organization that sparked merchandise sales.
In the Travelers’ next fulltime general manager, Meeks will seek a candidate who fits a similar mold.
“We need someone with passion and a hunger for the community,” Meeks said. “Minor-league baseball is a special industry. It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about the entertainment side, and we’ll want someone who can come up with things to keep our fans entertained.”
Ozier will have the rest of the season to prove she can be that person.
She was raised in Cerro Gordo, Ill., and grew up playing softball, basketball, volleyball and track and field before spending four years at Webster University in St. Louis.
“I always joke that our office is full of former athletes who weren’t good enough to be pros so we turned working at a stadium into our career,” she said.
Ozier held roles with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and the River City Rascals — an independent baseball club in O’Fallon, Mo. — before coming to the Travs. During her time in the front office, Ozier has proven herself as a leader and problem-solver with a knowledge of baseball and the business end of the the operation, according to Meeks.
Ozier approached each of her roles with curiosity and questions, soaking up information from Meeks, Allen and others in the front office. In her latest position, where she will be the first woman to serve as the Travs’ general manager, she plans to remain on top of both the elements included in her job description and those that extend beyond it.
“I want to know everything about how to tamp a mound, how to get the bullpens ready and what we need to do to be sure the grass is taken care of,” Ozier said. “I’ve never had to do that since I worked for the Travelers, but I think it’s important to have an understanding of the things that need to be done here.”
To Ozier, the interim role is no audition. It’s a position she’s prepared to attack, wielding expertise gained over the past four and a half years with the club.
“I’m trying to not put too much pressure on it,” she said. “I’ve obviously been doing something right if the organization is willing to give me this opportunity. I’m just going to keep moving forward that way.