Seebeck, Pottebaum make amazing improvements for Heartlanders in 1 year with team

Coralville, Iowa- The Iowa Heartlanders are thrilled to congratulate Phill Seebeck and Erin Pottebaum on each of their one-year anniversaries working with the team. The two have helped the Heartlanders make incredible strides since joining the team in early October 2023, just two weeks before Opening Night. 

Here is an outline of what Phill and Erin have accomplished in one short year to make the team the best it can be (Or as our President Matt Getz says, “GET TO YES!”).

Phill Seebeck: Director of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development
Connect With Phill

Phill has reimagined how local businesses engage with the Iowa Heartlanders, transitioning from a “sponsorship” model into a “partnership” model, which focuses on using Iowa Heartlanders assets to help local businesses achieve THEIR goals. This transition has led to immediate results, including Phill selling EVERY dasherboard for the first time in Heartlanders history, as well as the most on-ice logo placements in team history. Additionally, he has nearly doubled corporate partnership revenue in his first year with the team.

A huge part of this success is due to Phill’s determination to build and nurture mutually beneficial relationships - be that in developing relationships with partners new to the Iowa Heartlanders or through repairing existing relationships with those partners who intended to leave the team after their initial partnership agreement. To address the latter, he redeveloped the team’s corporate partnership model in a few short months into packages that went beyond traditional advertising and put a focus on achieving the partners’ goals, all while learning a new industry and keeping a sense of humor along the way.

If you’re interested in learning more about how a partnership with the Iowa Heartlanders might benefit your organization, you can email Phill (phill@iowaheartlanders.com) or visit this link for more information.

Erin Pottebaum: Director of Business Operations

Connect With Erin

Erin’s title is a neat way of summarizing her role, but it doesn’t capture the full picture because she has become the Heartlanders go-to Director of Everything any time someone has a question, requires extra guidance on a project, or needs a hug 😊

An example of this can-do attitude, Erin immediately became the driving force behind the team’s community relations. She has fostered a stronger bond between the Heartlanders and the local community, as well as heightened awareness of our community engagement through strategic initiatives by encouraging staff, coaches, and players to get involved with local events and community service projects. The Heartlanders helped raise thousands of dollars for local non-profits and organizations last season through donations to their causes, as well as collaborating to raise funds through game tickets and Chuck-A-Puck sales. She also helped revamp the Non-Profit of the Night program, presented by Scheels, for this season to increase the potential dollars and awareness organizations can raise through the Iowa Heartlanders.

Erin also overhauled the Heartlanders’ financial operations, bringing processes and procedures into an organization that badly needed fiscal structure and guidance. In addition, she created a more engaging atmosphere at the Heartlanders Team Store (formerly “The Silo”) as the defacto “manager” last season.

Lastly, Erin asked us to give a huge thank you for all the guidance and expertise of the staff that have helped her along the way! 

Both Erin and Phill deserve a huge round of applause for their work in the last year, and we have only just begun. If you’d like to see the *NEW* Heartlanders experience in action, please join us for Open Season presented by Greenstate Credit Union on Saturday, October 19^th (Buy tickets HERE). The game will be preceded by our first of 5 pre-game parties this season, beginning at 3:00 PM in front of Xtream Arena. For more details on the October 19^th pre-game tailgate – including how to register to win prizes and experiences during the tailgate party - please visit WEBSITE LINK.