31 Dec 2024 Five-Oh-Ones to Watch 2025: Lance Restum
By Donna Lampkin Stephens
In his role with the Arkansas Travelers, Lance Restum is in the business of making memories.
And he is succeeding.
“Baseball’s our product, but our job is to create fun memories that last a lifetime,” said Restum, 45, director of Community Relations for the Travelers, the 501’s iconic minor-league baseball team. “You’re going to remember that corndog you ate, hanging out with a friend, almost catching that foul ball and having the lady next to you snatch it out of your hands at the last minute.
“Those memories are really what we do at the Travs. For the last (almost) 20 years, I’ve been fortunate to be able to help thousands of Arkansans create wholesome, fun memories that last a lifetime.”
Restum is the face of fun at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, filling empty moments with on-the-field activities. “In between innings, we sell sponsorships and activities to entertain and inform our fans,” he said. “We copy games that are fun, steal games from other teams and talk to clients about fun games we can play.”
According to the official site of Minor League Baseball, MiLB.com, Restum is “always throwing, spinning, running and acting crazy as contestants compete to win great prizes on-field.” The dizzy bat race is one of the Travs’ most memorable activities, according to Restum. “I’m the dizzy bat guy,” he said, chuckling. “That’s what they remember.”
Restum also serves as director of the Arkansas Travelers Youth Foundation, the official team charity. The foundation, which launched in 2021, focuses on strengthening opportunities for young athletes to play baseball and softball.
Living in Bryant with his wife, Jennifer, and daughters Mallory and Molly, Restum grew up in Texas, but his Arkansas and 501 roots run deep. His father is a University of Arkansas graduate; his mother and brother are University of Central Arkansas Bears. He has family in the Bryant/Benton area.
“Every living relative I have is from Arkansas and went to college in Arkansas, and I got back to Arkansas as soon as I could,” he said.
With degrees in marketing and broadcast technologies from the University of Houston, he went to work for Clear Channel Communications. “I had an opportunity in 2005 to transfer (to the 501) with Clear Channel to be on air and in media and marketing sales,” he said. “I was a DJ for Magic 105 and New Rock 100.3 The Edge.”
Bill Valentine, the Travs’ legendary former general manager, called the radio station looking for “a bingo guy” at Ray Winder Field in 2006 before the move to Dickey-Stephens Park (DSP). Restum was hired for Tuesday and Thursday bingo nights. With the move to DSP, he became the team’s official on-field emcee. Later he became director of marketing and media relations.
“I kept the radio gig until 2013 as a hobby,” he said. “I always had multiple jobs. I emceed the Central Arkansas Roller Derby. When you’re that age, you’ll take any job.”
He eventually became assistant general manager prior to the launch of the youth foundation.
“It was a natural progression with the Travelers,” he said. “For the 12 years prior, I’d been working with non-profits, with youth groups. I was on the field with kids every single game, getting them excited. My role was growing in community outreach, so it made sense to create a non-profit entity. Once we were able to create that, it opened the door for us to help a lot more kids on a much larger scale.”
He said the Travs modeled the foundation after those of major league teams. “Our main categories, our pillars, are community outreach, grants and scholarships,” Restum said. “My favorite, by far, is the community outreach. We host half a dozen free kids’ clinics, and everyone is invited. Every bit of equipment is provided; we have refreshments, swag and instruction from professional baseball players. To see the joy and enthusiasm sparked in these kids is the best part of my job.”
He said the foundation is an attempt to combat the sport’s declining attendance, viewership and participation over the last 10 years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s not because the kids disappeared, but the enthusiasm for team sports has waned,” he said. “My biggest obstacles are screen time, childhood obesity and childhood diabetes. Those are all directly related to the inactivity of our youth. The best way I know to stir that pot is to get them active, outside and playing ball.”
For 2024, he surpassed his goal of serving 1,000 kids through the six clinics. The final number was 1,281. For 2025, his goal is to reach 1,500 kids in 10 clinics. The foundation has hosted clinics around the 501, including at Little Rock’s historic Lamar Porter Field, where Brooks Robinson played, and Majestic Park at Hot Springs, where Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and other standouts graced the field when Hot Springs was known as The Birthplace of Major League Baseball Spring Training, according to majesticpark.org.
“We’re really fortunate to have great community partners,” Restum said. “We’ve had several clinics at the North Little Rock Boys and Girls Club; we’ve partnered with the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s a real blessing to have partners.”
The foundation also offers a “cleat closet” that includes cleats, pants and other equipment that would otherwise cost young players hundreds of dollars, and baseball and softball scholarships to a handful of Arkansas colleges.
“In the days when I was growing up, parents would pay $45 and you’d get a T-shirt and hat and you’d practice and play games a couple of times a week, and at the end of the season you might travel somewhere to play an all-star game,” he said. “That was how youth sports worked. You were on a team with the same guys you went to school with, that you went to church with. There was a community of family when you played team sports.
“Now team sports are competitive. You pay to play the travel ball system. You may or may not go to school or church with your teammates. Parents are paying $1,200 to $1,500 minimum just to get their kids into competitive leagues. That has created giant economic hurdles.
“The reality is most kids can’t afford to play baseball. It’s not that the skills aren’t there. That’s why the youth foundation exists.”
And why he is so passionate about what he does.
- Five-Oh-Ones to Watch 2025: Elizabeth Cleveland - December 31, 2024
- Five-Oh-Ones to Watch 2025: Lance Restum - December 31, 2024
- Kid of the Month: Olivia Sherbet - December 2, 2024
