FARMINGTON – As summer reaches its peak in Farmington, one tradition continues to define the season: the Connie Mack World Series.
For 61 years, the tournament has drawn families and fans from across the country to watch elite amateur baseball players compete on one of the sport’s biggest stages. But while the athletes command the dirt at Ricketts Park, a dedicated crew behind the scenes works from sunrise to nightfall to keep the energy high in the stands.
From managing the massive jumbotron to orchestrating between-inning trivia and theme nights, the CMWS Jumbotron and Operations committees are the unsung orchestrators of the ballpark atmosphere.
The operations team, which also consists of Aaron Estrada and Fernando Romo, can be found throughout the ballpark during games to make the time between innings pass seamlessly.
For Farmington High School senior Emily Boognl, joining the Jumbotron and Media Committee felt like a natural progression.
“I’ve grown up around Farmington and baseball fields with my brother playing,” Boognl said. “When I turned 14, I started doing scoreboard, so even though I’ve never played softball or been in that area, it’s just been tradition and part of my life.”
Now in her third year on the committee, Boognl ensures advertisements run smoothly and live game calls — balls, strikes, and fouls — display accurately on the big screen. Yet, keeping a crowd engaged under the scorching summer sun or through unpredictable New Mexico weather delays presents its own challenges.
“I don’t think we have a lot of crowd interaction unless somebody’s name is spelled wrong,” Boognl joked. “Or it’s the wrong picture on the board and they say, ‘That’s not the right person.’”
Bridging the gap between the game on the field and the fans in the bleachers falls heavily on Haleigh Bassing, a digital media instructor at Piedra Vista High School. Bassing serves on both the Jumbotron and Operations committees, helping coordinate everything from local high school dance team performances to crowd trivia and fan interviews.
As the mother of an 8-year-old, Bassing often uses her daughter as a gauge for what will keep casual spectators entertained during lulls in the action.
“We want people to keep coming back to our organization to see our athletes play and give them something to look forward to — a reason to dress up for Hawaiian Day, Cowboy Day, or White and Blue Night,” Bassing said. “To give them a real purpose to be there, text their buddies, and build that community around baseball.”
Beyond entertaining the crowd, Bassing uses the tournament as a real-world classroom. Drawing on her own background blending theater tech with live sports broadcasting, she recruits local students to gain hands-on media production experience.
One of those students is Farmington High School junior Genaro Lopez, who has worked in media and pressbox operations for seven years.
Lopez’s game day starts around 7 a.m. at the ballpark, setting up audio equipment, checking the jumbotron systems, and organizing playlist rotations for the day’s operators. By late afternoon, his focus shifts to staging evening fan entertainment, including races and interactive games.
“I’m very passionate about baseball, and I love it, but for other people who may not feel the same, I try to make it more fun and inclusive,” Lopez said. “Last year we did pretty good, but this year we have more fan-inclusive interactions, and we brought back a lot of the things from last year because they were pretty big hits.”
While the media crew operates largely out of sight in the press box, Bassing emphasizes that their work is just one piece of a massive community effort that makes the tournament a success year after year.
“There are a lot of people involved in it, and I’m lucky to be part of this community where everybody kind of knows each other,” Bassing said. “And if we don’t know each other, it’s been easy to jump in quick and make those friendships where we’re able to get things working together.”