Our Night at The Garden: A Vet Tix VIP Experience
By: Ashton Reagin, Marine Corps Spouse,
Creator of the Organized Chaos App
As a Marine Corps spouse for more than 12 years, I understand that fun, affordable family events are a great way to survive and thrive through the changes often thrown our way. Through our seven moves and five deployments, I’m always looking for ways to create those family bonding experiences, and Vet Tix has a been a conduit for many of those. However, one event in particular is deeply engrained in our collective, fond family memories: The Under Armour Reunion Basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City.
We’re originally from South Carolina and are avid fans of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. When we saw the ticket lottery for the tournament, we knew that they would be playing and jumped at the chance to see our team play in NYC!
The exciting thing about Vet Tix is that you don’t know what type of tickets you’ve won until you pick them up. Filled with anticipation as to what the day would bring, we took the short 42-minute train ride into the city from our home on Long Island, New York into Penn Station. As we walked into the doors of Madison Square Garden and picked up our tickets from the box office, the lights and sounds immediately immersed us into the MSG/Vet Tix Experience.
We quickly found out that our seats were located on the second row from the court and couldn’t be more excited! We thought that was it and were more than happy, but then we were greeted with VIP Badges and told that there will be a VIP reception at halftime. The surprise and joy on our son’s face was such a magical moment that I’ll never forget.
We cheered our hearts out for the Gamecocks as they hustled up and down the court, able to see the ESPN news anchors report live from the court on all the action. When we reached half time, the MSG representatives ushered all VIP individuals outside of the arena and into the VIP reception. My kids were so excited! The reception room was beautifully decorated, providing a warm and welcoming environment, and was supplied with refreshments as well! Under Armour and Kohl’s teamed up to give each VIP holder an Under Armour book bag embroidered with our names and filled with branded gear inside. They even had an embroidery machine there to do everything on site.
During the reception, we heard from Kohl’s Chief Operations Officer at the time, Kevin Mansell, and at the time the New York Yankee’s 3rd Baseman, Todd Frazier who now plays for the Mets. They spoke about the shared morals and values that got them where they are today. It was such a great panel discussion, and because my son plays travel baseball year-round, Frazier took time afterward to speak to my son about the ways he can improve and the work ethic that it takes to become a Major League Baseball player.
Our son meeting Todd Frazier
Once the VIP experience concluded, we went back to our seats and enjoyed the rest of the tournament. Unfortunately, the Gamecocks did not win the game, but the entire experience was unforgettable. I was so impressed with not only our Vet Tix experience but also with the teams at Madison Square Garden, Under Armour and Kohl’s, as well as all the people that we met and heard from during the event.
The entire adventure is forever engrained in our minds and hearts thanks to Vet Tix! The organization’s mission of creating event opportunities that reduce stress, strengthen family bonds, and build lifelong memories has been fulfilled for us.
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About Ashton
Ashton Reagin is a Marine Corps spouse of 12 years with three children and a full-time career. As a seasoned military spouse, she has endured seven military moves, five deployments, and has been otherwise separated from her spouse for nearly half of her 12 years of marriage. Ashton has an earned Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Liberty University.
With eight years’ experience in operations, business process design, project management, and analytics, Ashton is well-versed in streamlining, tracking, and reporting on the small details that every business must possess to run smoothly. These same strengths and experiences were used to carefully curate the Organized Chaos app; which is a military lifestyle digital planning app specifically designed to help military families streamline their chaotic life. The Organized Chaos App is available for download on the iOS App Store. For screen shots and demos videos, go to www.operationorganizedchaos.com
