Sales and sports: Student leads charity auction for Meals on Wheels
Courtesy of Connor Monzo
Connor Monzo volunteered on the Sport Management Club's sales committee for last year's auction. This year he takes on the role of co-chair.
Syracuse University’s Sport Management Club raised more than $40,000 for the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center last year. This year, the club hopes to raise even more for Meals on Wheels of Syracuse.
Connor Monzo, a sophomore sport management major, is the co-chair of the club’s 13th Annual Charity Sports Auction. Each year the club organizes an event during a men’s basketball game to auction various items and raise money for charities in central New York.
This year’s auction is Dec. 9, the day of the Syracuse vs. Colgate men’s basketball game. The first part of the auction will be in the back court of the Carrier Dome at noon. The second part of the auction will take place online.
The online portion, referred to as the Steiner Sports auction, usually brings in about 20 to 30 percent of the donations. Big-ticket items, such as signed jerseys and memorabilia from legendary athletes, are sold online. Anyone can bid on the items.
“My favorite items this year would have to be the signed Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin jerseys,” said Monzo, referring to two stars on the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Monzo was born and raised in the city.
He volunteered on the auction’s sales committee last year and helped obtain items for the auction from companies and sports teams. His work led the club advisers to choose Monzo as a co-chair for this year.
Along with senior sport management major Stephen Marciello, the chairs supervise members and coordinate with faculty advisers, SU Athletics and the charity to help prepare for the auction.
This year, the organization is partnering with Meals on Wheels, and Monzo is hopeful that they will raise big bucks for the cause.
“Meals and Wheels has been great to work with,” Monzo said. “We hope to raise at least $40,000.”
Monzo interned for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds professional soccer team this summer. He worked on creating new business partners and corporate sponsors for the team.
The sophomore has always loved sports, and his experiences with the auction and with the Riverhounds have helped him find a passion for sales as well. In the future, Monzo hopes to be the director of marketing for a sports team or an agency.
Published on October 1, 2017 at 10:56 pm
