MIKE VEECK is a nationally renowned speaker, entrepreneur, college professor, marketing, promotions and advertising expert as well as an owner of six successful minor league baseball teams. His name is synonymous with fun and creativity and he continues to blaze new trails each year. Who else would train a pig to deliver baseballs to the umpire, hire mimes to perform instant replays or lock fans out of the stadium to set an all-time attendance record for fewest people at a game? The Veeck family started in baseball nearly a century ago when Mike’s grandfather was president of the Chicago Cubs. Mike’s father Bill, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was the owner of the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and the then minor league Milwaukee Brewers. Bill Veeck is remembered for signing Larry Doby, the first African –American to play in the American League (1947) and for sending 3-foot, 6-inch Eddie Gaedel to bat in a major league game. Mike began his baseball career with the Chicago White Sox and has also worked for the Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays. It is with the belief that anything is possible and fun is crucial to success that Mike runs his companies. His Saint Paul Saints have become a model organization and along with this culture of fun, it’s their willingness to take creative risks, forge innovative partnerships and deliver outstanding customer care that proves to be the positive difference that leads to success. It’s no surprise then that SNL alum and film guy Bill Murray (a co-owner and partner with Mike in a number of ventures) serves as Team Psychologist / Director of Fun. Murray is sometimes seen taking tickets, selling programs, coaching third base and giving noogies. Fans love the positive vibe, family feel and great customer service they get at Mike’s ballparks! This business philosophy has garnered national attention, with Mike being featured on NBC Nightly News, 60 Minutes, HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, ESPN Sports Center, The Late Show with David Letterman and many other national media outlets. With his teams practicing all this fun and passion in the workplace, providing great customer care, exceeding aggressive sales goals and gaining national attention for his creative promotions and partnerships, Mike decided to highlight his coworkers and tell these stories in his book– Fun Is Good! In response to the success of the book and organizations asking to learn more of this philosophy, Mike created the consulting company of the same name, Fun Is Good. He and his team lead entertaining seminars, training sessions and keynote speeches across the country. Mike is a highly sought after speaker, allowing him the privilege of working with many companies each year, including 3M, The NBA, Deluxe Corporation, General Mills and NASCAR, to name just a few. Mike and his wife, Libby, reside in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. He is the father or two children, William “Night Train” and Rebecca.ALLEN FAHDEN, Just on the strength and uniqueness of his ideas, Allen Fahden has gotten the attention of people in groups of up to 50 million. His One-Book Book Store, ReadDundant, appeared in People Magazine, on ABC News, the BBC, National Public Radio and in major city newspapers. The store featured only Fahden’s book in 13 different departments. His promotion for the Portland Beavers, during the Enron scandal (Arthur Andersen Appreciation Night) got him on CNN and ESPN. “It costs $5 to get into the ball game, but we give you a receipt for $10 for tax purposes.” Fahden has worked with clients Paul McCartney on his food venture and Bill Murray and Mike Veeck on their professional baseball teams. As a speaker he appeared for 20 of the top 100 companies in the world, ranging from Amazon.com to Coca- Cola, GE and Disney. Shell Oil reported that using Allen’s techniques saved them a million dollars per team. Allen’s systems gave Qwest a 38% sales increase and division sales grew from $20 million to $60 million over the next two years. Allen’s Team Dimensions Profile assessment that streamlines innovation has sold more than a million copies worldwide. He has written several books, including chapters on strength-based work for the best-selling book The One Minute Millionaire by Chicken Soup for the Soul author Mark Victor Hanson. Allen spoke at the first Fortune Magazine Innovation Forum alongside Warren Buffet and the CEOs of the top Fortune 500 corporations. He has trained and entertained audiences in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, and Spain.
