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Photo Courtesy: AlexMorganImaging.com
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The Nashville Stars organization is excited to welcome Don Mattingly as its newest Baseball Advisor. Mattingly will provide counsel on key strategic matters and work to gain support in bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to Nashville.
His support will help advance a plan to develop a diverse investor group with a goal of becoming the first MLB franchise to have majority Black ownership, expanding on the league’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“The approach that Dave Stewart and his team have in Nashville is exactly what the game of baseball needs,” said Mattingly, who will start his first season as the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays this upcoming season. “I am glad to see MLB taking an active approach on these important issues. We need more diversity in the game, and it starts from the top down.”
Mattingly spent all 14 seasons of his MLB career with the New York Yankees, winning the 1985 AL MVP Award and nine Gold Gloves while being named to six All-Star teams. He was named as the franchise’s 14th captain in team history in 1991, serving until the end of the 1995 season. After his playing days, he served in coaching positions with the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. He accepted his first managerial job with the Dodgers in 2011 and led the team to five winning seasons. Afterwards, Mattingly managed the Miami Marlins from 2016-22 and won the NL Manager of the Year Award in 2020.
“Simply put, Don Mattingly knows baseball,” said Stewart. “He was a pure hitter, played near-flawless defense, and has been successful as a manager and coach because of his baseball mind. He is well-respected around the game of baseball, and we are lucky to have him with us.”
Mattingly is familiar with the city of Nashville. He spent one year in Double-A with the Nashville Sounds in 1981. Mattingly was named the Yankees’ Minor League Player of the Year after batting .316 with seven homers and 98 RBIs in his lone season with the Sounds.
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Music City Baseball (MCB) is proud to welcome Cheryl McKissack Daniel, President & CEO of McKissack & McKissack, as a real estate development advisor. She will advise on the ballpark, education, and neighborhood development projects that will bring Major League Baseball to Nashville. She represents the fifth generation of the McKissack family’s century old business, which is the oldest minority and woman-owned design and construction services firm in the nation.
McKissack Daniel is a civil engineer who has more than 30 years of experience in all phases of the design and construction industry, including major project work in commercial, healthcare, education, and transportation sectors. Her company currently employs over 150 employees and has contracted more than $50 billion in construction over the past decade.
“It is crucial for a project of this magnitude to have experienced voices to help guide us,” said former MLB pitcher and front office executive Dave Stewart, who is leading MCB’s efforts to develop a diverse ownership team. “To have someone with Cheryl’s stature, and whose family business is a historical pillar of Nashville, is such a valuable resource not only for us as an organization, but for the entire community.”
McKissack & McKissack is responsible for several significant buildings nationwide, including the Coney Island Hospital Campus Renovation; Atlantic Yards (Pacific Park) LIRR Yard Relocation; and Columbia University Manhattanville Expansion to name a few. The firm’s latest high-profile project is the new $9.5B Terminal One at JFK Airport. Also, since 2009, McKissack & McKissack has been serving as the MTA’s Independent Engineer Consultant overseeing the Capital Construction Program of the nation’s largest transportation system.
Locally, the firm was involved with the Carnegie Library at Fisk University, the Morris Memorial Building in downtown Nashville, and Pearl High School. The company also developed parts of North Nashville, including several buildings on Tennessee State University’s campus, which is currently being evaluated as a potential site for an MLB ballpark for the Stars.
“Tennessee State University has a significant historical background for the Black community in Nashville, and I grew up right adjacent to the campus,” said McKissack Daniel. “My grandfather and my father built many of the buildings on that campus. To be able to bring light to TSU through having a Major League Baseball team is a dream come true for me.”
McKissack is pleased with the Stars’ approach on forming a diverse investor group with a goal of becoming the first MLB franchise to have majority Black ownership.
“I hope that the city of Nashville embraces this whole development and concept to the fullest,” said McKissack Daniel. “This is very different than the redevelopment of the East Bank. This is developing at a historically Black college and creating economic empowerment for people of color. That is a mission and purpose that's valuable to our city of Nashville.”
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Photo Courtesy - Nashville Business Journal
After nearly two decades in the corporate world working at Southwestern Company, Sam Kirk set his sights on demystifying that world for youth across the country, starting right here in Nashville.
“I really felt a calling in my heart to work with students from underserved communities and I wanted to go into places where young people are traditionally overlooked,” Kirk said.
As the executive director and founder of the non-profit, Youth About Business, Kirk has taken care to facilitate a pipeline to success for high school students by providing resources and opportunities that foster the development of business literacy and leadership skills. Through a series of intensive training opportunities, hands-on experience, and mentorship throughout the participants' high school careers, alums leave the program equipped to be competitive in business and the world beyond.
At its core, Kirk said, the program is about leveling the playing field for all young professionals.
“If you're on a level playing field and you get beat, then I believe that's okay,” he said. “But what's not is when students are not given the same set of resources and continue to lose.”
By working to address this resource gap, Kirk believes young people who are not traditionally given the same access as their counterparts, but are tremendously talented, can thrive.
Since the program was founded in 1992, with only seven participants, it has grown exponentially and served over 9,000 students to date. YAB currently operates its in-person programming in Tennessee, New York, Illinois, Georgia, and Texas but added an online academy in 2020 to better serve students during the pandemic. Of the thousands of YAB alumni, many have gone on to become leading names in their respective industries.
“I've got a long list of young people who have gone on to achieve great things,” he said.
A critical component to this success? The experiential learning process, which sets the program apart from other professional development curriculum, Kirk said.
With their three major university partners - Vanderbilt University, Emory University, and Columbia University - students are able to live on campus during the intensive summer training and experience the college environment. Additionally, with programming that’s set up to challenge students, giving them unique opportunities such as creating a simulated Merger & Acquisition Transaction and granting them access to top industry professionals, the sky's the limit for those who are driven to excel.
“These young people who are entering business and industry, their companies are now telling us that the preparedness found in those who have been through our program is elevated and unique,” Kirk said. “So now we’re developing relationships with those companies and they’re looking at YAB for internships and other opportunities. That’s one thing I’m so excited about.”
These corporate relationships, Kirk said, play a big role in providing Youth About Business scholars with exclusive opportunities and experiences. With a possible MLB franchise on the horizon in Nashville, there will be many new and exciting possibilities for programs like Youth About Business.
“I think if you can’t see the dream, it's hard to live the dream, and for a team here to come to fruition is extremely exciting. That's gonna create a very unique picture for Nashville and for young people who are dreaming of opportunities, outside of playing baseball, on the development side and the enterprise side,” he said.
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A group of graduate students from Catawba College in North Carolina stopped by to check out the Stars office and meet the crew. They asked some great questions about our efforts and what it’ll mean for MLB and the Nashville community. Thanks for stopping by!
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Our team had been busy spreading the Stars spirit around town! We loved being able to spend time before the holidays with those at the NGH Foundation, whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of Nashville by providing equitable access to coordinated patient-centered care, supporting tomorrow’s caregivers and translating science into clinical practice.
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ROBERT CHURCHWELL ELEMENTARY
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Crystal Hicks is a former Star of the Month and a teacher at Robert Churchwell Elementary School. It’s always great catching up with her and her first grade students!
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Glad to assist the Nashville Rescue Mission, a local center that is committed to helping the hungry, homeless, and hurting by providing programs and services that focus on a person’s entire life.
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We enjoyed coming out to support Window of Love, which is a nonprofit organization that provides youth with food, books, field trips, tutoring, support, resources & love.
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Our crew was hard at work helping Dream Streets, which is a registered nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and empower individuals living in distress. Their programs serve under-resourced families in West and North Nashville, which include mobile food sites, a mom’s group, and student programs.
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