“We stepped back. Digital Scoreboards handled everything.”
Ryan Lesniak, Former Director of Athletics
The end of this story celebrates a win for the Peachtree Ridge boy’s soccer team during the season opener with a brand new, state-of-the-art digital scoreboard proudly displaying the 3-2 score over Parkview. But the real story never hit the newspapers. It wasn’t broadcast on RidgeVision News, Peachtree Ridge High School’s audio and video program, or trending on social media. The real story happened behind the scenes and to tell it, we need to start from the beginning.
Picture it, Suwanee, Georgia, 2022. Former Director of Athletics Ryan Lesniak is busy in his office, building schedules for the spring sports season, putting out fires, and writing up reports. When the phone rings. It’s Principal Jadd Jarusinski.
“Mr. Lesniak,” Jadd says.
“Mr. Jarusinski, what can I do for you?”
“Ryan, I’ll get right to the point. We need a new scoreboard and we need it now. Get some quotes together.”
“On it,” Lesniak says.
Okay. So we used the quotes loosely. That’s probably how it happened. Needless to say, one of the scoreboard companies Lesniak reached out to was Digital Scoreboards.
Digital Scoreboards Vice President of Sales Blake Bearden met with Lesniak, and asked about his goals and future vision of Peachtree Ridge High School. He asked Lesniak about what they needed in a scoreboard, what they wanted…you see, at Digital Scoreboards we do more listening than talking.
Blake began working tirelessly to come up with a solution that Peachtree Ridge could not only implement on the field but also in the classroom. Plus, Blake developed a strategy to support the Peachtree Ridge High School booster club in their fundraising efforts.
The Decision to Partner with Digital Scoreboards
Blake Bearden isn’t your typical sales guy. If you ever have the pleasure of meeting him, he’s laid back, intelligent, and a straight shooter. Blake doesn’t use high-pressure sales tactics to get the job.
“What you see is what you get with Blake. He gives you a quote, checks in on you, and keeps in touch. The other guys kept pushing and forcing us into something we didn’t want. In the end, we trusted Blake and went with Digital Scoreboards,” said Lesniak.
Check out the details of Peachtree Ridge High School’s new digital scoreboard:
- Actual Screen Size is 22’ tall x 35’ wide.
- High Output 10mm Screen Clarity.
- Replaced existing fixed-digit scoreboard, older message center, and static signage.
- Added a new booming sound system on top of the screen with new press box audio gear.
- Quick delivery time – less than 8 weeks from contract to completion.
Now, here’s where the story takes a turn for the….best. Remember the trust Lesniak put into Blake and Digital Scoreboards? This part of the story is what sets Digital Scoreboards apart from the rest. You’re going to love this.
Champion Adversity
Elite athletes (and businesses), seek out challenges because they represent opportunities to overcome obstacles – to learn and grow in the never-ending pursuit of greatness. And adversity is exactly what Digital Scoreboards got.
“Digital Scoreboards thought they could install the new scoreboard from top to bottom in three days. They came out a week before our home opener and planned to work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and fire it up before Tuesday night’s game,” Lesniak said.
But that’s not exactly how it happened. As the installation team began to work on deconstructing the old scoreboard, they quickly realized the ground which supported the old scoreboard, wasn’t level and would not be safe to install the new scoreboard. The team had to go back to the drawing board and reengineered the metal support of the new scoreboard.
Next, new power and data had to be piped into the new scoreboard. When the Digital Scoreboard installation team dug up the electrical conduit, the line was completely crushed.
“Digital Scoreboards worked with a local electrician on our behalf, we stepped back. Digital Scoreboards handled everything.”
Lesniak told Blake before the installation process began that this needed to be a turnkey operation, and that Lesniak had no time to deal with multiple vendors.
“We just wanted to write one check,” Lesniak sad.
What was planned to be a three-day job, now turned into a seven-day job. Peachtree Ridge High School needed that new scoreboard installed before the season opener. As the deadline approached, the Digital Scoreboards installation team worked 15-hour days over the next four days including the weekend, to get the new scoreboard installed.
“They made the deadline at the sacrifices of their families.”
Ryan Lesniak
The day before the season opener, the Digital Scoreboards technology experts installed the press box computers and software and began training the booster club parents on the system. “Sy was here the day before training everyone, spent the night, and was here for us in the box the night of our first game. Blake was here too making sure everything ran smoothly,” Lesniak said.
In fact, the Digital Scoreboard installation team was there that night too. They were still working, hauling away debris, metal, and parts of the old scoreboard. Peachtree Ridge High School’s new digital scoreboard came with 11-year parts and 5-year labor warranty. “That gave us peace of mind. To have that kind of warranty is amazing…you don’t see that kind of warranty around here,” Lesniak said.
When asked why he would recommend Digital Scoreboards to his colleagues, Lesniak kept it brief:
“Customer service, warranty, follow through. They hit the deadline, no matter what.”
Reach out to our team and let us provide solutions for your school.