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 and formerly served on the Junior Achievement board and was named the 2009 La Crosse Tribune "Sports Person of the Year".

Ben Kapanke begins his seventh season with the Loggers and the fourth year as Assistant GM. Ben, 30, has been with the Loggers full-time since the 2005 season.  Ben helps oversee the day- to-day operations and is heavily involved with sales, recruiting and season tickets.  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 have one son, Evan, who is one year old.

Anna Lamm is in the midst of her first season with the La Crosse Loggers as the Group Sales Coordinator.   Her main focus will be bringing in organizations and groups into the Lumber Yard to enjoy the Logger experience and help them "Make Memories".   Anna will graduate from UW-La Crosse this May with a degree in Professional & Organizational Communication and a minor in Interpersonal Communication.   Anna enjoys baseball not only from the audience standpoint but also loves playing the game as well.   Anna is the daughter of Dustin Lamm and Barbara Wing of La Crosse.

Fanta, a Viroqua native, will graduate from UW-La Crosse this May with a major in Sport Management and a minor in Organizational and Professional Communication.  Jay is no stranger to the La Crosse Loggers organization, serving as a Street Team intern in 2011.  His past work experience also involves working in the UW-La Crosse Sports Information Department as an intern for the past two years. 

Fanta is also no stranger to the baseball diamond having lettered four years on the UW-L Baseball team.  As a player, Fanta earned All-WIAC honors in (2009, 2010), and 2^nd team all-region honors in 2009.  His playing career at UW-La Crosse has also led him to a brief playing career in the Northwoods League with the La Crosse Loggers in 2009, and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in 2010.  Fanta played on temporary contracts during both seasons.  Jay’s brother John, was also an intern with the Loggers during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.  John is currently the Assistant General Manager of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.

During his spare time, Jay enjoys fishing, golfing, and hanging out with his family.  He is also a huge Brewers and Packers fan.  In the future, Jay hopes to stay around baseball in some capacity.

2012 will be Derek Stark’s second year with the Loggers after working in Public Relations as the Logger’s on-field voice in the summer of 2011.  He will now transition into the office on Caledonia St. to work in ticket sales.  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. 

Dan McEssy is part of the Ticket Sales team for the Loggers.  A native of Fond du Lac, WI, Dan is currently a junior at UW-La Crosse where he is studying Sports Management with a minor in Business Administration.  Dan loves baseball, but due to his inability to hit the ball his career was cut short for other sports with more promise.  His athletic accomplishments include State Track Championship participant and part of a State Champion football team in high school (St. Mary’s Springs Academy).   He now enjoys the game with a brat in his hand enjoying a beautiful day at the ballpark!  He is the son of Shelby and the late Mick McEssy.

Brooke Ruesink is beginning her first season with the Loggers as a Ticket Sales Executive.  In the off-season she attends UW- La Crosse and plans to major in Sport Management and minor in Business Administration.  During the Loggers season she looks forward to continuing her ticket sales position as well as joining the game day staff.  Brooke is very excited to have the chance to interact with our customers as well be a part of the Loggers team.  She has enjoyed watching and playing baseball since she was a young girl, even after being hit by a ball knocked away her sense of smell!  Brooke is the daughter of Dan and Kristi Ruesink who reside on a farm near Spring Valley, MN.

Brett Sebion is spending his first year with the Loggers as a ticket sales executive.  He graduated from Westby High School where he played four years of baseball.  He’s currently attending UW-La Crosse studying Marketing and Finance.  Brett grew up around the game of baseball, and the game has now stuck with him.  He started playing baseball as far back as he could remember, and still plays in the summer with the CCV Blues amateur baseball team.  Brett is the son of Mark and Vickie Sebion.