AMERKS HONORED WITH SEVERAL TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS AT AHL TEAM BUSINESS MEETINGS
Amerks win Marketing Campaign of the Year, Rob Balsamo named top corporate sales executive in Eastern Conference for second straight year
Jun 16, 2026The Rochester Americans took home a total of six team achievement awards in recognition of business and individual excellence during the 2025-26 season at the 2026 AHL Team Business Meetings presented by Victory Live as more than 250 representatives from the league and its member clubs gathered this week at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Team and league front-office personnel from throughout the American Hockey League convened to discuss best practices and share innovative ideas in several areas, including ticket sales, corporate sales, marketing and digital media.
The Amerks were awarded with the AHL’s Marketing Campaign of the Year in recognition of the organization’s promotion and overall execution of its historic 70th-anniversary season in 2025-26. The season-long celebration featured a series of specialty throwback jerseys worn each month to honor the different decades in team history as well as appearances from alumni and exclusive merchandise. The special year also culminated with the retirement of Hall of Fame broadcaster Don Stevens, the AHL’s longest tenured broadcaster who wrapped up a 40-year run as the legendary Voice of the Amerks.
Additionally, Rob Balsamo, the team’s director of business development, was named the top corporate sales executive in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year. Last season, Balsamo was honored as the Eastern Conference’s Corporate Rookie of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
“I’m incredibly proud by the efforts and contributions of our staff and everyone involved in our organization who continue to exceed expectations and set the standard for organizational excellence each year,” said Amerks Vice President of Business Operations Chad Buck. “Also, congratulations to Rob for this very well-deserved honor by the American Hockey League for the second straight year."
The Amerks were again among the AHL teams honored with a 90 percent renewal rate in corporate sales revenue for the 2025-26 season, a mark the team has reached every year since 2016-17 except for the condensed 2020-21 campaign. The business development team also hit a milestone benchmark of $300,000 in new corporate revenue for this past season.
For the fourth straight year, Rochester was among a select few organizations with 600 or more AHLTV on FloHockey Team attributed subscriptions this past season. Additionally, the team was among those to reach a 90 percent renewal rate on full season tickets for yet another season.