Five Questions with Emily Ostapovich, the creative mind behind ‘Eagles Country’

Apr 20, 2023

Original article shared from www.reporterherald.com:

Rowley, Jocelyn. "Five Questions with Emily Ostapovich, the creative mind behind ‘Eagles Country’" Loveland Reporter Herald, 4/20/2023.

LOVELAND, CO – APRIL 20, 2023: Emily Ostapovich, director of creative and marketing services for the Colorado Eagles, poses for a photo Thursday, April 20, 2023, at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland. (Jenny Sparks/Loveland Reporter-Herald)
By JOCELYN ROWLEY | jrowley@prairiemountainmedia.com | Loveland Reporter-Herald
April 23, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.

In 2003, former NHL player and coach Ralph Backstrom brought professional hockey to Loveland with the Colorado Eagles, a minor league affiliate in the Central Hockey League. Over the next 20 seasons, the team would capture the CHL trophy twice, before moving up a step to the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and capturing another two championships.

In 2018, the Eagles announced a move to the American Hockey League (AHL), the top of the minor league tier, and an affiliation with the NHL team just a few miles down Interstate 25.

Earlier this month, the Eagles wrapped up their 20th season at the Budweiser Event Center by advancing to the playoffs for the 18th time in franchise history. On Friday, the team secured a first round victory over the Ontario Reign and will face the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the upcoming Calder Cup division semifinals.

Fort Collins resident Emily Ostapovich has been with the Eagles every step of the way, first as a graphic design intern, then art director and then creative director. In 2021, she also picked up marketing director duties and has carried the dual title ever since.

Ostapovich also leads the Eagles’ RESPECT program, a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative that originated in the NHL, a duty she considers “an enormous honor.”

Ostapovich was born in San Diego, but grew up in Fort Collins, graduating from Rocky Mountain high school in 1994. She then went on to play soccer collegiately, first at Pacific University in Oregon and then club soccer at Colorado State University. While there, she was active in club sports leadership.

In addition to soccer, Ostapovich is also a self-confessed baseball fan, the result of being raised by “huge baseball fanatics,” and taking cross-country trips with her brother Nick to catch an MLB game somewhere.

When she’s not designing and leading marketing campaigns for the Eagles, Ostapovich spends time with her husband, three daughters and three cats, despite the latter making the subject of ribbing at work.

In between last week’s playoff wins, Ostapovich took time to share with the Reporter-Herald her thoughts about working in professional sports, her longevity with the organization and her prediction for the Calder and Stanley cup playoffs.

What drew you to work in professional sports?
Working in sports was a natural trajectory for me as I grew up with such a love for sports, mostly as a participant when I was younger (that was a really long time ago by the way) but also as a fan. I think a lot of people who grow up playing sports at either a professional or non-professional level feel the need to continue on the same path, it’s a comfort to work in a field that is or was a part of your identity.

 What has kept you with the Eagles organization all these years?
The organization was founded on a family-first mentality with a strong emphasis on respect and caring about each employee as a person. Ralph Backstrom, our late founder, and Martin Lind, our owner, were instrumental in starting this and carrying it through to today. A simple message from Ralph was given to us in 2003 “Because Nice Matters,” as a way to do business and treat others, and that has become one of the core values that we operate under even today. As well, having the leadership of Ryan Bach, our president, who himself has been with the team in one form or another during the past 20 years, who knows us, and genuinely cares about the team from all of his many perspectives, has been very positive. I think it’s things like that, that truly make a difference in regards to long-term stability and happiness.

Have you faced many challenges working in what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry?
Oh without a doubt, but being a former team member and athlete conditions you to not only to be strong, but work in a little elbow room when you have to, and compete. I certainly don’t take any guff in the office, but I don’t need to worry about that either. Our organization has a very positive record of promotion and hiring of female staff members and that number continues to grow each year. Currently, we have six women on a 17 member staff, and we are a strong group that share a bond, that being between myself, Jennifer Dollarhide-Branson, Cassidy Torpen, Kayla Scohy, Nicole Pennetta, and McKaiela Tyler, who are all unbelievably fantastic at what they do and indispensable.

What are the most memorable/successful campaigns/ads you’ve created or worked on for the Eagles?
We’ve done so many marketing campaigns and it’s hard to choose the most memorable, but I think the one that stands out the most was in the 2009-10 season when we began the “This is Eagles Country” campaign where we featured our fans and the areas of Northern Colorado. I think that is where the namesake of our fans, “Eagles Country,” was born and really took hold.

How has the recent success of the Colorado Avalanche (and DU Pioneers) impacted the Eagles?
“The Hockey Highway,” as we have dubbed it, has been amazing. Our players are truly the stars of tomorrow, and from a fan’s perspective I think you can easily see that. You see players like Logan O’Connor, Pavel Francouz, Alex Newhook, and so many more, play in our building in an Eagles jersey one night and wake up the next day and see them not only in a Colorado Avalanche jersey, but winning a Stanley Cup championship. We are a proud affiliate and I think we do a good job of connecting both camps of fans, Avs Faithful and Eagles Country. After the 2022 Stanley Cup Championship of the Avalanche, and the 2022 National Hockey Championship of the Denver Pioneers, we have certainly seen an elevated excitement for hockey, especially now more than ever as we make our own way through the 2023 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs.

Bonus question: What are your playoff predictions for the Eagles? For the Avalanche?
I am seeing hockey in June and confetti in both Ball Arena and the Budweiser Events Center…would you expect anything else?

Author
Jocelyn Rowley | City reporter