LYNN — Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. That’s easier said than done for most, but for the past four years as the facilities manager at Manning and Fraser Field, it’s been close to a reality for Rich Avery.
And it wasn’t always that way. Avery spent over two decades working at Verizon before former Manning facilities manager John Kasian came to him looking for a replacement.
“I was working at Verizon for 21 years,” Avery said. “I had just come off my fourth or fifth strike and I was really looking for something new. I didn’t love what I did anymore.”
Thankfully, Avery had plenty of connections throughout the community after coaching both youth baseball and hockey as his son Richie went through the programs. Richie, now in seventh grade, recently finished off a season as a goaltender on the Lynn Jets and Rich’s wife Jill is still the president of Pine Hill Little League.
“I had contacts around the city through coaching at Pine Hill and Lynn Youth Hockey,” Avery said. “Then John reached out and asked if I’d want the job after he retired. Honestly, it was a tough decision to leave (Verizon). It took me a long time to decide even though I knew I wanted to. Then I said yes and thank god I did.”
Avery took over an experienced crew that had been working for Kasian and he quickly became thankful for that. One of the early events held at Manning field when Avery took over was a Division 1 football Super Bowl between Everett and Xaverian in 2016.
“I kind of got thrown right into it,” Avery said. “It was my first fall, started on Labor Day weekend and we had the Division 1 Super Bowl that year. That was crazy. I have a great group of guys that worked with John for years and it did go off without a hitch.”
Taking over where Kasian left off and having a reliable crew has been key for keeping things running smoothly over the years.
“John was very particular in the way he ran things and I picked it up and used his way,” Avery said. “As I go on, I’ve made my own way. Jimmy and Brian Belliveau, Jimmy Finnigan — he’s my guy at the gate and he’s fantastic. That core group guys I can really rely on every week.”
Obviously there hasn’t been much going on at Manning and Fraser this spring with the coronavirus epidemic halting sports in Lynn and beyond.
“It stinks because we were actually in a really good spot because of the weather over winter,” Avery said. “We had already had two early college baseball games with Fisher College. Normally they’re trying to find a field to play on right now but we were ready to roll. This week would’ve been the first week of high school and we could’ve hit the ground running.”
For now the fields wait to be used, whenever that may be, but the future’s still bright for things at the Agganis Complex.
“I’m learning more every year just like any job,” Avery said. “And it’s not just the stadium. We help run the summer job program too, finding businesses and seeking applicants. The stadium part I try to just make a little better each year however we can. It gets easier too.”
