The Miami Marlins’ Director of Ticket Operations has just become a grandmother for the first time. Here, she reflects on living in the now, her favorite authors, what she gets from INTIX and Bob the Dog.

*  *   *   *   *

Who do you admire most and why?

My dad. He has come a long way in his life. In his 70s, he reinvented himself and has become a happy person. I really like being around him.
 

What is the quality you like most in a person?

Honesty and transparency.
 

What is the quality you most like in a colleague?

Honesty is really, really important, but I think I would have to say the ability to work hard and keep a positive attitude.
 

What qualities are important to you in a leader?

Honesty and humbleness. Someone who can be humble beside you and lead a group.
 

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Of course my husband of 33 years and my daughters, but I have also just become a grandmother to the sweetest little baby boy ever. He has taken my heart away. Then there’s that little dog of mine.
 

Which talent would you most like to have?

Clairvoyance, to see the choices I could make ahead of time and make the right choices without having to go through all of the hardships.
 

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

I got up this morning! Every day that you get up is the best day ever and you have to make that day your greatest achievement. I live very much in the now.
 

Where would you most like to live?

In Miami, where I am living.
 

What is your most treasured possession?

I don’t have any. It’s just stuff and I don’t need stuff. Unless you think a dog is a possession.   My dog Bob is a Chihuahua mix with a funny face. He has a serious underbite, a bent ear and he’s only eight pounds.

Who are your favorite writers?

Right now I’m reading a series by Diana Gabaldon – she wrote the Outlander series about Scotland beginning in 1743. Also Maeve Binchy, who writes about Ireland. For mind candy, I read Janet Evonovich.
 

What’s the best live event you’ve ever seen and why?

Prince was fantastic and Bruce Springsteen was amazing. I also saw Rent on Broadway and In the Heights. Those were two of the most fabulous performances ever.
 

What is your favorite venue and why?

It’s hard to say, they are all so unique in their own ways. The Marlins’ ballpark is one of the most beautiful ballparks you’ve ever seen. It is art deco, so bright and colorful. The Twins’ ballpark is “very Minnesota” with the sandstone and its history. The historic Orpheum Theatre (Minneapolis, Minnesota) is also a beautiful building.

What is your favorite place to visit or place you’d love to visit and why?

I would love to visit Scotland because it is my homeland. I’ve never been there before.
 

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?

Calm down. Nobody is dying and nobody is bleeding. Don’t stress.
 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to think and be at peace.
 

If you were granted three wishes today, what would they be?

Wealth and health, but they are the same thing. I think I would also take away pain. So many people live with all sorts of different pain. And, I would make everybody just calm down. We all have different opinions and that’s okay.
 

What brings you the most joy or greatest meaning in life?

My family.
 

Why are you a member of INTIX?

Happenstance that stuck. Back in 1992, Roger Newton was my CEO and he thought INTIX would be a good tool. I went and met people who taught me, accepted me and laughed with me. If I got into a bind, I could call them and they would help me through it.

I also met a person who is very special to me. Her name is Rosalba Corsino and we met in 1993 or 1994. Our lives have paralleled one another except that she retired three years ago and I’ve continued. She just had a grandbaby two weeks before we had a grandbaby.
 

What do you get from INTIX?

A lot of joy. When I come here and say “I’m going through something,” people understand. They get it if I’ve lived through something and I’m proud of myself. Not a lot of people understand our industry and not a lot of people understand what we do, but you can come here, live in each other’s joys and feel each other’s struggles.
 

What does INTIX give you that is different from everything else you are doing?

A sense of belonging. You can tell your boss so many things, but if they don’t do exactly what you do they can understand but they can’t be compassionate about it. Here everybody is compassionate about your achievements and what you are going through because they are all going through it and achieving the same things at the same time.

Who is your mentor?

Right now, my boss Claude Delorme is very much my mentor. My dad has also been a very big mentor in my life. He taught me to do business like a man – to put things on the table, deal with them and be done.
 

Who or what inspires you?

Having a grandchild inspires me. I want to make him proud. My kids inspire me too because I’m so proud of what they are doing.
 

What do you love most about your job?

It’s a tough job in a man’s world but I love the fact that I can do it and succeed.  I also love the people I work with.  They become my family away from family. 
 

What do you love most about our industry?

That it’s ever-changing and hasn’t become flat. It is evolving at rocket speed and that is an exciting thing.
 

What is your most memorable INTIX moment?

I was sitting in the lobby of the INTIX hotel in San Diego in 1995. A man came over and introduced himself. He asked if I was Mardi and I said yes. He sat down, introduced himself and said, “I’m supposed to get to know you and learn everything you know.” The boss of his boss has told him to learn from me.
 

Is there anything else you would like to share that defines you as a professional or a person?

Deep down, I’m a very compassionate and loving individual, but it’s hard to get close to me because I keep my distance.