The Work Behind Play UMC alum John Rozek's work takes him behind the scenes of concerts and sports franchises

Few would dispute the notion that soul-singing icon Tina Turner is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. The ratted hair, the sexy, revealing outfits…both combine to make Turner's look almost as famous as her music.

John Rozek might disagree, however, and he has some inside knowledge that few people, other than those in Turner's inner circle, possess.

A 2000 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC), Rozek crossed paths with Turner when she was in concert at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul recently. And Rozek, concessions/concourse/food and beverage manager at the Xcel Center at the time, didn't recognize her.

"She came by my office looking for a pen while I was coming out," he recalled. "She got her pen, said thanks and left. Then someone else who was there said, 'Don't you know who that was?' I didn't."

Rozek's best defense for not recognizing Turner isn't the fact that he's a big fan of country music. Instead, it's that previously mentioned inside knowledge. "She had no make-up on and was wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt," he said. "She looked nothing like Tina Turner."

Maybe it's Turner who has some explaining to do, for she was just as guilty for not recognizing Rozek, the first UMC student ever to be named Man of the Year two years in a row, from 1998-00. "Yeah, right," Rozek said of the contention that it's Turner who should be scrambling for excuses.

Moving Up to the HHH After approximately three years at the Xcel Center, the UMC alum with a bachelor's degree in business management moved on to become assistant food and beverage manager at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis this past summer.

On the Minnesota Vikings' playing field in the Metrodome

While going from the glitzy "X," recognized by many as one of the most beautiful hockey/concert venues in the country, to the less aesthetically appealing Metrodome might raise a few eyebrows, Rozek said the move was a no-brainer. In his line of work, going from an arena with a seating capacity of 19,000 that's home to one major sports franchise, the NHL's Minnesota Wild, to a 65,000-capacity stadium home to both a professional baseball and football team, made complete sense.

"It's a very good promotion for me, because even if the legislature announced tomorrow that both the Twins and Vikings were getting new stadiums, it would be six years before they actually played in them, so I'm not going to sweat that at all," Rozek said. At a Wild game, a staff of approximately 200 handles all the food and beverage services, he said, while that number is closer to 350 for a typical Twins game at the Dome. "And it's a lot more with 65,000 packed in here for a Viking game," he added.

Rozek works for a company known as Centerplate. Until a name change in February of 2003, it was known for years as Volume Services of America. He worked for the same company at the Xcel Center, which contracted food and beverage services with the Wild. At the Dome, those services are contracted with the stadium's manager, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Centerplate has approximately 150 accounts in the United States and Canada, including Yankee Stadium in New York and Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA.

"We do stadiums, arenas, convention centers, zoos, all kinds of venues," he said, adding that they have ten accounts on the Hawaiian Islands. "We set the menus, the prices, bring the food and staff in…pretty much do everything."

Rozek, 26 and a St. Paul native, stepped into his managerial position at the Xcel Center immediately after graduating from UMC, about a month before the puck was dropped at the Wild's inaugural game. If that seems like an unusually large career leap for a fresh-faced college graduate, it makes sense considering Rozek's nine years of experience at the annual Twin Cities Taste of Minnesota summer food, music and arts festival.

Over that time, he worked his way up the Taste of Minnesota ladder, starting at age 16 on the "night crew" that picked up trash from 9 p.m. to 9 p.m. and working his way up to food and beverage coordinator from 1998 to 2002. In-between, he sold beer and assisted his sister with the Taste of Minnesota MarketPlace. "It worked out perfectly while I was at UMC, because I could stay on top of Taste of Minnesota things in the fall, winter and spring by telecommuting,"

Rozek said. "But in the summer, it was always a full-time gig down here." He took a leave of absence from the Xcel Center in the summers of 2000-02 to continue his Taste of Minnesota duties. But when the Wild made an unexpected run deep into the NHL playoffs this past spring, Rozek had to scale back to being a consultant for Taste of Minnesota.

Trip Sealed the Deal Having a dad who owns a construction company, Rozek said he grew up in a business and entrepreneurial climate, and pursuing a business degree seemed to make the most sense. But with a University of St. Thomas alum for a dad and numerous other higher education options from which to choose in the Twin Cities metro area, what made Rozek venture 300 miles northwest to UMC?

"A blizzard, actually," said Rozek, originally recruited to play football at UMC. "My dad and I came up for a visit and there was a huge blizzard with a 60-below wind-chill, and Highway 2 was even closed." With the highway closed, that meant UMC was closed, too. "But (Center for Business and Technology Program Chair) Rob Smith came in, someone from admissions came in, a tour guide came in, and some of the football staff came in," Rozek recalled. "Even when they didn't have to, all those people braved the weather just to make sure that my trip wasn't for nothing. That was the personal touch that really sold me, the fact that I meant that much to them."

With his football career "fizzling out" after his freshman year, Rozek looked for new avenues of involvement on campus. His main activity was as president of Campus Ministries for three years. He fondly recalls helping to start an outreach program at the local Juvenile Detention Center. "It wasn't a counseling session; we'd just go there now and then to play basketball or games and just talk to them," Rozek explained. "You can learn a lot from a textbook in the classroom, but it was experiences like that at UMC that educated me more than anything."

He also worked extensively with Pam Holsinger-Fuchs in the Student Activities office and, as a senior, was on the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team. He was instrumental in the launch of the Personal Finance for Kids initiative that garnered the SIFE team a lot of positive attention and is still in place today.

"(Marketing instructor and SIFE adviser) Steve Shirley just does a great job in his classes and with SIFE; he's one of my favorite guys," Rozek said. "He puts so much effort into SIFE, and the chapter's success is a tribute to his hard work."

Rozek, who is engaged to be married on June 19, 2004, wishes he could stay in better touch with his fellow UMC alums. But in an industry driven by weekend and evening events, he said it's almost impossible not to gravitate toward people in the same industry who share the same hectic schedules. During the Wild's playoff run, he was putting in 80 hours a week.

"That doesn't leave a lot of time for socializing," he said. "But, still, I need to stay in better touch with people."

John Rozek in his office at the Metrodome Work, Not Play Rozek hears it all the time from his friends, especially during the hysteria surrounding the Wild's playoff run:

"It was always, 'Oh, you're so lucky you get to be at all those games!'" Rozek said. "Trying to convince them that I was actually working very hard at those games was a very tough sell."

But he was indeed working-so much so that, in all, he probably witnessed 15 minutes of actual Wild hockey throughout their three playoff series. Over the past three seasons, he said he has probably watched two Wild road games on TV. He watched more road playoff games this past spring and was deeply concerned about the outcome, but not necessarily because he's a huge fan.

"If they won, it meant I had more home games to prepare for," Rozek said. "This is my job, so even if I really wanted to I can't get really wrapped up in a game or a concert."

At the Dome, Twins players and coaches walk right past his office all the time on their way to the locker room. "It's kind of neat, but when you see something every day, the novelty wears off," he said. "They're just people. I'm not hardened or anything; I'm just working."

A big fan of The Dixie Chicks and Tim McGraw, he did get a little psyched up when they played at the Xcel Center. But even then, he saw very little of the show.

"If I have some downtime, I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me," he said. He doubts he'd be risking his job if he strolled backstage now and then to get a closer look at some of the celebrities, "But it's not like they're sitting back there all anxious to get a few minutes with the food and beverage guy," Rozek joked.

"I'm very lucky to be where I am," he added, "but not because of sports teams or celebrities."

Written by Mike Christopherson