Samantha Russo Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has another visitor! Samantha Russo is a Red Sox fan, an on-air radio and television personality, and a former Miss New Hampshire. Thankfully she was nice enough to visit with us to discuss all of those topics, and a few more. So, let's see what happens when Samantha Russo visits Section 36!

You spent some time working for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the AA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. What sorts of things did you do there?

Provided by Samantha

I absolutely loved working in minor league baseball! I was able to do a little bit of everything around the ballpark: community relations, media relations, on-field promotions, and social media. During the games though I would sit up in the press box next to the official scorer and run the MiLB GameDay program online.

While that relationship with the Blue Jays organization must have been nice during the playoffs the last couple years, does it make it tough when the Red Sox play the Blue Jays?

Provided by Samantha

First and foremost, I'm a baseball fan. The Red Sox are "my" team but I have a soft spot for other players and teams as well. But it's definitely tough when I want to see the Red Sox win but if I guy I worked with on the Blue Jays is playing, I want to see him do really well. 

Which team has the brighter future, the Red Sox or Blue Jays?

I think both teams do a really great job in developing players throughout their minor league systems and both teams have a lot of young talent on their current rosters. I think we're going to see these two teams battling for the top of the AL East for many years to come.

As we all know, David Ortiz retired at the end of this season. What is your favorite David Ortiz memory?

Provided by
Samantha

It's hard to not say, "This is our f*'n city". Thinking about that moment gives me chills. Papi is an icon to Red Sox Nation and has given so much to us. I love the Dunkin' Donuts commercials, the video of him impersonating a Lyft driver, and when he teared up watching his daughter perform the National Anthem. 

What do the Red Sox need to do this off-season to improve their team?

The Sox have a great core of young talent but there is a ton of dead weight on the payroll that might make it difficult to do anything big this off-season. It would be nice to beef up the back-end of the rotation and to pick up another power hitter like Papi. But we're not in a terrible position right now to work with what we have.

You're currently on the air in NH with Rock101 (WGIR FM) and Z107 (WERZ FM). What drew you to radio?

I never thought I'd get into radio. I went to school for broadcast journalism but with more of a focus on television but radio is where I just happened to get my first broadcast job. I actually really love it, especially because I love music so much. I worked a bit for our AM station on the talk side and that is a whole new beast to try to tackle. I have a new found respect for sports-talk show hosts. It really is such a talent to be able to talk for hours on end without sounding foolish.

Provided by Samantha

You're also on the air with Dirty Water TV. What challenges has that presented?

Yes! I have had an absolute blast getting to work with Dirty Water Media. The opportunity to get back on-camera and on NESN is something I am so grateful for. There really haven't been any challenges other than some long drives. I live and die by my planner so multi-tasking and time management are two things I excel at. 

As a former Miss New Hampshire, you're going back on stage to compete for the Miss New Hampshire USA crown this weekend. What made you decide to get back into competing?

I never thought I would compete again after competing in the Miss America Org. But I'm a competitive person by nature and a goal setter. I love having a set goal to work for. The Miss Universe Organization provides another set of opportunities both personally and professionally that I could benefit from. It would also be another opportunity for me to get out into the community and give back to organizations that are important to me like D.A.R.E. and Veterans Count.

When you're at Fenway, if you can't sit in Section 36, where do you (or where would you) like to sit?

I'm happy as long as I'm at Fenway but I've been dying to sit up on the Bud Deck..maybe next season!

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The Bud Deck is one of the few places I've never sat in as well. I agree that it's something worth checking out soon!

I certainly want to thank Samantha for taking the time to visit with us. Especially since I'm sure she's been extremely busy preparing for the Miss NH USA competition starting tomorrow, I'm grateful she took the time to visit with us. I'm also glad she sent along some great pictures to go along with the interview. Pictures make any post all the better!

If you want to hear even more from Samantha, I highly recommend you follow her on Twitter or Instagram. You can also check out her website. And, of course, be sure to catch some of her on-air duties!

And, naturally, I want to wish Samantha good luck in the Miss NH USA competition this weekend as she looks to win another crown!

Thanks again Samantha!