John Montalbano -- Director of Business Operations

John is entering his fifth season with the Steel; Fourth as Director of Business Operations. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa with Business Marketing and Communications degrees.

John is responsible for obtaining and renewing sponsorships and corporate partnerships as well as all of the marketing and promotional efforts.  Montalbano is also responsible for most of the aspects of public relations.

John also assists in all ticket sales efforts and game day operations. Montalbano is also in charge of  all of the graphical design along with updating and maintaining the Steel website.

johnm@chicagosteelhockeyteam.com
Office Phone: (630) 594-1162



 

Rob Newburg -- Director of Ticket and Corporate Sales

 Rob Newburg enters his third season as the Steel’s Director of Ticket and Corporate Sales. Prior to his time with the Steel, Rob built up an impressive background in the sports industry while working with several successful teams. He recently served as the Youth Hockey Director for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2002-2006. Rob also spent time with the now defunct Chicago Hounds of the United Hockey League (UHL), the Chicago Shamrox of the National Indoor Lacrosse League (NLL), as well as many local travel and house league hockey programs.
At the Steel, Rob is in charge of all ticket sales, including individual, group, and season tickets. He also assists the front office in marketing and advertising efforts, and obtaining corporate sponsorships for the team.

Rob resides in the Western Suburbs with his wife Justine and their 2 children Kayla and Ethan.

Rnewburg@chicagosteelhockeyteam.com
 Office Phone: (630) 594-1165

Katie Sack -- Assistant to the GM/Director of Community Relations

The longest-tenured member of the Steel staff, Katie Sack enters her seventh season with the team. For the first three, she served as a marketing intern. This season, she continues the overseeing of  Gameday Operations, including -- but not limited to -- birthday party management, gameday staff coordination, and referee hospitality. Katie is a native of Plainfield and is the co-owner of TI Cheerleading.

 

ksack@chicagosteelhockeyteam.com
Office: (630) 594-1159

 

RJ Bosworth - Account Executive

R.J. enters his third season with the Steel after spending the 2007/2008 season as an intern.  He will spend the season focusing on ticket sales while also working on game day operations, sponsorships, stats, and community relations.  R.J. is a graduate of Columbia College with a degree in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management with a concentration in Sports Management. 

rbosworth@chicagosteelhockeyteam.com
Office: (630) 594-1161

Mike Romano - B2/Radio Broadcaster

Mike Romano is beginning his tenth season as the Chicago Steel play-by-play announcer and has been calling the Steel games since their inaugural season.

Mike is not only a veteran USHL broadcaster but is a lifetime hockey player. At first a forward, he switched to playing goalie in high school. Among his accomplishments, Mike earned the starting goalie position at Bradley University in his sophomore year, and started all but three games over the next three seasons, until he graduated in 1973. Mike led the Bradley Braves to their first league title in the ’70-71 season and sported a 2.43 GAA and a 13-3-3 record, which is still the best single season winning percentage ever by a BU goalie.

The "behind the mic" Mike, did some baseball play-by-play at Bradley, but put his announcing career on hold to join his family’s fourth generation distribution business which he ran until he sold it in 2002.

Mike resumed the pursuit of is childhood dream of being a hockey broadcaster by auditioning for the vacant Steel job in 2001 and has been the "Voice of the Steel" ever since.

Mike will always be grateful to Steel principals, Bruce Liimatainen and Mike Greenberg for giving him the opportunity to fulfill his fondest wish of calling the action of the world’s greatest game.

Mike resides in the western suburbs of the Chicago area with his wife of 28 years and their four children.

You can contact mike here.

 

Vito Abbinante - Public Address Announcer

A true artist, Vito has been the real "Voice of the Steel" for the past 5+ years. In addition to announcing, Vito also runs the game day music, light show, occasionally performs the national anthem, is often spotted as the mascot for off ice appearances, and is a self proclaimed “Technological Genius”.  

Before working with the Steel, Vito had put together a long resume of underachieving and uselessness. He does, however, have a full 2 semesters under his belt at DeVry University, and is often referred to as "The Man" by friends and colleagues.  

Vito’s favorite show is “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”, and after a long day of being awesome, he likes to curl up with thought provoking books like "The Stinky Cheese Man", and "Calvin & Hobbes".

He currently resides in Itasca, IL. Feel free to stalk him via email here.

Michelle Grant - Housing Coordinator
 

Michelle is the Housing Coordinator for the 2009-2010 season.  The Grant family has been a part of the Steel family for over two seasons now, after housing a player, coming to every game, and being proud supporters of the Steel, Michelle is continuing with the roll of Housing Coordinator, in which she will be the main liaison between the team, the players, and the players' families. 

If you have any questions about housing you may contact Michelle Grant Here

Kristina Schmidt- Intern

Kristina is currently a senior at Columbia College Chicago and is pursuing a degree in Marketing Communications with a focus in Public Relations and Sports Marketing. She enters the 2009-2010 season as a marketing intern.

Matt Elrod - Intern

Matt is currently a senior at Eastern Illinois University, in Charelston IL. He is pursuing a degree in Sports Management with a minor in Business Administration. He enters the 2009-2010 season with the Steel as an intern in youth hockey.

Amanda Schmidt - Intern

Amanda will be a senior this year at The University of Iowa pursuing a degree in English with a Spanish minor, ultimately hoping to seek a career in the field of public relations or journalism. She recently returned home from a semester abroad in Spain, where she was able to finish her Spanish minor and explore a bit of Europe. In her free time she enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to concerts and is always eagerly awaiting the next Iowa football season. She is looking forward to a summer with the Steel and to help out with and learn more about the business side of a sports team.

Chris Babb - Intern

Chris Babb is entering his first season with the Steel. He graduated from Southern Utah University with a degree in Psychology and is looking to pursue a Masters in sports administration this spring.

Chris lives in Addison with his wife and their dog.