MYRTLE BEACH, SC. – Myrtle Beach Pelicans Vice President and General Manager Andy Milovich was named the 2014 Calvin Falwell Executive of the Year Award winner by the Carolina League. Leading the Pelicans over the last two seasons, Milovich earns the award for the first time, and he is the fourth Pelicans executive to earn the award.
“Andy is a great choice for this award,” said League President John Hopkins in a league press release. “During his time at Myrtle Beach, the operation has been growing and improving in every respect. It’s a well-deserved honor.”
Although this is the first Calvin Falwell Award for Milovich, it is not the first time that his efforts have led to official recognition. Milovich was the recipient of The Sporting News Minor League Executive of the Year following his third consecutive New York-Penn League attendance record with the Erie SeaWolves during the 1997 season.
“The Carolina League is loaded with great operators and tremendous leadership,” said Milovich. “To be recognized by your peers in such a talented league is incredibly humbling. It is truly a team award that isn’t possible without an incredible staff, great community support, and the commitment from our ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg.”
During his tenure with the Pelicans, the club has increased its overall and average attendance in each of the last two seasons and posted the best average attendance in team history (3,652) in 2014. The 241,026 who poured through the gates at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark this past season was the second-most in team history in a single season, finishing behind only the 2008 season (242,397), despite four lost gates this season.
Under Milovich’s leadership, the club has also set new marks in community involvement. The Pelicans donated just under $400,000 in man-hours and monies during the 2013 season and surpassed that number this past season, totaling in $465,912 in contributions under the Play it Forward campaign.
“Our entire Pelicans family is happy and proud for Andy on this well-deserved honor,” added Pelicans Chairman and Managing Partner Chuck Greenberg. “His dynamic and creative leadership and personality have had a remarkable impact on our community and our franchise during his first two seasons in Myrtle Beach. We can’t wait to see what innovative ideas he comes up with next.”
The upcoming 2015 season will be Milovich’s twenty-fifth in professional baseball. The South Bend, Indiana native graduated from Valparaiso University where he obtained a B.S. in both Business Administration and Sports Management and completed the Sport Management Graduate Program at the University of Georgia. Over his nearly quarter of a century in the business, Milovich has worked for the Tucson Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, the PCL’s Tucson Toros that summer, the Madison Hatters, the Erie SeaWolves, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and the West Virginia Power. Prior to arriving in Myrtle Beach, he served as the Vice President of Palisades Baseball, managing the West Virginia Power, Power Alley Grill Restaurant, West Virginia Power Catering, and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
Andy was named Vice President and General Manager of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on December 22, 2012, following 18 years with Palisades Baseball.
The Carolina League office, league general managers, directors, and presidents vote on the Falwell award. The award was named in 2006 for the man who had been president of the Lynchburg club since that city joined the league in 1966. Calvin Falwell died at 90 on August 20, 2011.