### Chairman George H. McCaskey
Raised in the Chicago suburbs, McCaskey encountered "many great teachers" across his educational journey, but two educators stand out to him — one from the early stages of his schooling and one from his latest academic experience.
"Mrs. Callahan. Second grade. St. Emily School, Mount Prospect, Illinois. She was a wonderful example of the benefit of positive reinforcement," McCaskey said. "She was effusive in her praise. And as a result, I wanted to do anything I could to please her, and she made learning exciting.
"Fast forward 50-plus years and I'm pursuing my LLM at Arizona State University's College of Law. I took a sports analytics class, which you would think, 'Right in your wheelhouse.' What I didn't know is that a prerequisite for the class was a background in statistics, which I had none of. And I was lost. Our professor, Daniel McIntosh, had us writing computer code, and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't want to fail the class, so I asked him if I could drop it. Repeatedly. And he said, 'No.' Every time.
"And the thing that stuck with me was he refused to let me fail. He gave the entire class two extra credit assignments, and if you did both of those, you could drop your two lowest grades. Without that, I wouldn't have made it. But he cared so much when he could have easily said, 'Hey, this guy's not cutting it.'
### General manager Ryan Poles
In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week and all the educators that helped him learn and grow throughout his experiences in school, Poles gave a shoutout to teachers everywhere.
"Behind every successful individual are teachers and educators who provided guidance, inspiration and discipline, while encouraging curiosity and fortitude," Poles said. "I'm thankful for the teachers that I've had in my life, and I appreciate the dedication and sacrifice of today's teachers and educators for the impact that they have on the next generation."
### President & CEO Kevin Warren
At the beginning of last season, Warren received a handwritten letter from a _J. Rohloff,_ which he immediately knew was Mr. Jonathan Rohloff, his sixth-grade math teacher at Connolly Middle School in Arizona. Mr. Rohloff served as, in Warren's words, an "advocate, protector — someone who was looking out for me," following Warren's near-death experience when he was hit by a car while riding his bike as an 11-year-old boy in 1974. After spending a full semester at the hospital in traction and a full body cast, Mr. Rohloff helped Warren reintegrate into his academics and athletics upon returning to school.