Winning Spirit Magazine November-December 2017 | Page 12

UTAH The Buzz of Victory Salt Lake Bees Season in Review T he 2017 Salt Lake Bees finished the season with a winning record for the first time since 2013, but fell one game shy of the division title with a 72-70 record. Overall, it was the 18th winning season in the 24-year history of the franchise. Manager Keith Johnson had the Bees as the leader of the Pacific Southern Division for most of the summer, including 96 consecutive days with at least a share of the lead from May 28 to September 2. Salt Lake finished the season strong, winning six of their final nine games, but were passed by a red-hot El Paso team. The Bees were highly successful in developing players for the Los Angeles Angels again in 2017. Of the 25 players that began the season on the Bees Opening Day roster, 15 appeared in the Major Leagues over the course of the season—13 with the Angels. With a 71-game home schedule, 483,202 fans attended a game at Smith’s Ballpark last season marking the 20th time in franchise history the team has drawn more than 450,000 fans to the ballpark. The Bees will begin the 2018 season at home against the Albuquerque Isotopes on Thursday, April 5. ◆ No season would be a success without the hard work and dedication of the teams behind the scenes. UTAH Top Honors for Jazz Security Lance Davenport Receives Award L ance Davenport was honored by the NBA during the offseason. He was named the 2017 NBA Team Security Professional of the Year in just his second season working with the Utah Jazz as the vice president of security and risk management for Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment. The award was based on the responsibility of providing security for the team at both road and home games, and was determined in a survey of NBA and team security peers from different areas throughout the league. 10 LHM Winning Spirit November/December 2017 Davenport has been part of the company since 2013 when he joined the Miller Management Corporation at Jordan Commons as the director of safety and risk management. Prior to his LHM Group experience, he had a tremendous career in public service. In 2009, he was appointed by Governor Jon Huntsman as the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety. ◆