Front Office

Dan was born and raised on a small dairy farm in outside Coon Valley, Wisconsin where he developed a love for the game of baseball. As a young boy, Dan loved to watch and play baseball. Believe it or not, In middle school, Dan and a friend of his skipped their classes to watch the 1960 Yankee vs. Pirates World Series Game 7. Not only did Dan love to play and watch baseball, but he coached youth baseball in the La Crosse Area for 15 years.

Being a UW-La Crosse graduate in Economics and Political Science, Dan became very involved in local politics and is well known in the community. Dan was elected to the State Senate in November of 2004 and represented the 32nd District in Wisconsin until 2011. Along with his involvement in the political realm, Dan has been in the Agriculture Business for over 20 years. The love of Dans life, Ruth, has put up with Dan for almost 35 years. Dan and Ruth have a family of 4 children and 10 grandchildren.

The La Crosse area was not new to Goodell when he took the reigns in the fall of 2002 as his baseball roots stem from his early playing days with his hometown youth traveling team out of Oelwein, Iowa that made annual trips to the Stars of Tomorrow Tournament in La Crosse. An on-field standout in his own right, Goodell was an honorable mention All-state honoree from Oelwein High School in Iowa before going on to compete at the University of Dubuque (Dubuque, Iowa). Upon graduation from the University of Dubuque, Goodell took his degrees in Sports Management and Business Administration and traveled south to Southeast Missouri State University where he served as the graduate assistant in the SEMO sports information department for a year before taking the position with the Waterloo franchise.

Following his tenure in Waterloo Goodell stepped away from the NWL for one year, but not from the sporting scene, when he worked as a sales executive for the ESPN Radio and ABC television affiliate (KCRG -TV 9) in Northeast Iowa. During that same time, Goodell also served as the official statistician for the Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball Club, the Class A affiliate of the Anaheim Angels.

Goodell currently resides in Holmen, Wisc. with his wife Shannon, two sons Carson and Hayden and daughter Adalyn. The Oelwein, Iowa native is the youngest in a family of five (mother-Sally, father-Ron and brothers Tim and Todd).

Goodell is also a board member of the La Crosse Area Sports Commission, the Holmen Viking Wrestling Club, the UW-La Crosse "L Club" and formerly served on the Junior Achievement board and was named the 2009 & 2012 La Crosse Tribune "Sports Person of the Year".

Ben Kapanke is in the midst of his eighth season with the Loggers and the fifth year as the assistant general manager. Ben, 31, has been with the Loggers full-time since the 2005 season.  Ben helps oversee the day- to-day operations and is heavily involved with sponsorship sales, ballpark management, the Loggers concession operations as well as the team's finances.  Ben has been involved with the Northwoods League since 2002 when he served as an umpire after attending the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring.

Ben is the youngest son of Dan Kapanke and is married to his wife Elizabeth.  The couple resides on French Island with their two sons, Evan (3) and Drew (1).

Erin Bodoh (Luethi) joined the Loggers front office staff in November 2012 as the Director of Group Sales bringing with her a great deal of group and ticket sales experience, a vast knowledge of the La Crosse area and familiarity with the Logger organization.  Erin graduated from UW-La Crosse in 2007 with a degree in Sport Management and a minor in Business Administration.  While attending UW-La Crosse, Erin also served as an intern with the Loggers during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.  Upon graduation she worked with the St. Paul Saints Baseball Club (Independent Professional Baseball) in St. Paul, MN for five years where she oversaw the Group Sales Department.   Erin is excited to be back in La Crosse and back at The Lumberyard and very much looks forward to working with the great baseball fans of the La Crosse area.  Erin and her husband Jim reside in Onalaska, WI.

After spending the last five years in the Loggers dugout as the field manager, Andy McKay remains with the club as the Special Assistant to the General Manager where he will continue to work as a consultant in the areas of recruiting, advisement and sports psychology.

McKay currently serves as the Coordinator of Mental Skills for the Colorado Rockies where he consults and works with all levels of the Rockies organization including both players and coaches.

As the field manager of the Loggers, "Cap" became the winningest manager in Loggers history and ended his five-year reign with a Championship Trophy in 2012.  La Crosse posted a 53-21 record that summer, the second best record in Northwoods League history, en route to capturing the 2012 Northwoods League title.  The Loggers won more games than any other team in summer collegiate baseball during the five seasons under McKay’s guidance, posting a record of 210-139 (.602) during that span (2008-20012).  La Crosse made two post-season appearances, advancing to the Championship both times (2009 & 2012), and never won less than 38 games in a season.  He ended his Logger career sixth all-time in victories and fourth all-time in winning percentage in the NWL and is the Loggers all-time winningest manager.  45 former Loggers were also drafted during McKay’s tenure, including current big league pitcher Chris Sale (White Sox).

2013 will be Derek Stark’s third year with the Loggers after working in Public Relations as the Logger’s on-field voice in the summer of 2011 and in ticket sales in 2012.  He will now transition into the role of Media Relations Coordinator and oversee the gameday production of the "Daily Log" as well as serve as the official statistician at all Logger home games.  Stark was a 2010 graduate from Fort Atkinson High School where he was a participant in football, basketball and baseball.  He is now studying Sport Management at UW-La Crosse and is open to a plethora of career opportunities upon graduation.  He has been an avid baseball fan dating back to his tee-ball years as a toddler and looks forward to this new experience with Chris and the “gang”.  Derek credits his parents Denny and Jill Stark for shaping him in the person he is today. 

Having been a part of the Loggers game day staff for the 2007-2010 seasons Alexis Nickelotti is excited to join the Loggers again this season as a Ticket Sales Executive/Group Coordinator Assistant. Alexis took two years away from the Loggers to work in the Wisconsin Fair industry, in 2011 as the Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs and in 2012 as a Special Events Coordinator for the Wisconsin State Fair. Alexis grew up on her family’s dairy farm just outside of Genoa, WI. Alexis attended UW-Platteville where she studied Business Marketing. While in Platteville she participated as a member of the cheer and stunt team, outdoor track and field team, and was a resident assistant for campus housing.

“Baseball is the season I look forward to all year, it’s the game where you can’t just run out the clock when you are ahead, it’s the smell of the ballpark and the passionate fans, it’s the seventh inning stretch, and it’s the best game in the world!”

Sam Schmidt comes back to the La Crosse Logger organization for a second straight year. In 2012, Sam was the first base cameraman and part of the “La Crosse Logger Dance Crew”. This season he will be working in the office as a Ticket Sales Executive. Sam will be graduating with a Sport Management degree from the UW-La Crosse at the end of the summer. Sam will be attending the University of Louisville’s Sport Administration Graduate Program in Fall of 2013. Being an Athletic Director for a major university is Sam’s ultimate goal in life. He wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for the love and support from his parents Paul and Christine. Sam is thrilled to be back with the Loggers in 2013 and can’t wait for another successful season.