The Des Moines Buccaneers and team President Shawn Edwards are proud to announce that Ticket Manager & Director of Merchandise Kurt Whitlow has accepted a position with the National Football League's (NFL) Kansas City Chiefs.

Kurt has played an integral part of the Buccaneers organization from the moment he arrived. Kurt started with the Buccaneers in May of 2005 and he has never missed a game during his time here which included; two Buc Bowls, four pre-season games, 73 regular season games, and 8 post-season games. Kurt was instrumental in bringing a number of items to Buccaneer fans such as; opening the doors early for season ticket holders, “mini-packs”, “buddy nights” and “never wasted tickets”. He’s played a big part in selling out 95KGGO Arena 13 times during his tenure, and he recently brought the idea of ultimate fighting to our arena which we are promoting with regularity.

Kurt accepted the Ticket Manager position with the Buccaneers over two years ago partly because he knew the Iowa Stars were coming to Des Moines and he wanted the challenge of competing with them. He took on the merchandising responsibility in February of 2006 and has taken that aspect of the organization to its highest level ever. Kurt was responsible for a 16% increase in season ticket sales during his 2 ½ seasons with the Bucs as well as increasing group ticket sales even more. Kurt would tell you that his success with tickets parallels winning a National Championship, but his numbers can’t hide the fact that he has excelled with great regularity. He has organized a number of silent auctions benefiting charities, coordinated many celebrity appearances, as well as overseeing a large part of the team’s advertising campaigns.

Kurt leaving the Bucs for the Chiefs is another example of our organization, and the USHL, helping people advance to the next level. Not only are we developing and sending some of the best hockey talent in the world to the next level, but we, along with the rest of the USHL, pride ourselves in assisting staff members to achieve their career goals.

Kurt’s next challenge as an Account Executive for the Kansas City Chiefs begins later this month.  We have been fortunate to have Kurt as a part of our team here in Des Moines and we wish him all the best.

Thanks Kurt and GOOD LUCK!

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