Rozene Pride joined by Garth Brooks, Larry Gatlin and Neal McCoy for special announcement
The Texas Rangers have announced the creation of the Charley Pride Fellowship Program, offering rising college Juniors and Seniors a ten-week internship opportunity with the team’s front office. The new Fellowship Program honors the late country music legend, who had a strong connection to the Texas Rangers organization for more than 50 years. The details of the program were in the process of being finalized when Pride passed away from COVID-19 on December 12, 2020, at the age of 86. Pride would’ve turned 87 on March 18th, the day the announcement was made.
Officials from the Texas Rangers were joined in making the announcement by Pride’s widow, Rozene Pride, his longtime friends and fellow country music stars Garth Brooks, Larry Gatlin, and Neal McCoy, and prominent Dallas businessman Roland Parrish, whose Parrish Charitable Foundation is partnering with the Rangers Foundation in the Pride Fellowship Program.
The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation established the Charley Pride Fellowship Program to help create a launching pad for students from diverse backgrounds looking to gain baseball front office experience. The Foundation will hire, train and support five Fellows per year as they rotate through three front office departments. Fellows will select their departmental rotation based on their interests.
The Charley Pride Fellowship Program creates an entirely new experience offered by the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. It does not take the place of any existing internships or full-time positions. These students will gain valuable cross-disciplinary skills that will benefit them should they choose to pursue a career in professional baseball or any other industry.
“The Charley Pride Fellows program honors the legacy of Charley Pride as a pioneer and trailblazer and is designed to create future trailblazers in front offices of baseball organizations starting here with the Rangers,” says Neil Leibman, Texas Rangers President, Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer and Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation Chairman.
“Charley Pride changed my life the day I met him. A man already at the top of his game didn’t need to mess with an inexperienced young singer but he did. Letting me use his band to open shows, he gave me the experience of performing all over the world with him also giving me the opportunity to hone my craft eventually signing a Major record deal and the rest is history,” adds Neal McCoy.
McCoy continues, “Knowing how he felt about helping people and experiencing some of the things he did throughout his country music career only lets me know how proud Charley and his wife Rozene will be to know he was the inspiration for the Pride Fellows program. I can see him smiling down now seeing that others maybe not so fortunate will be able to hone their craft, whatever that might be, within the Texas Rangers organization!!!!”
Applications are now open and are due by April 23rd. Finalists will be notified on May 3rd.
