Faces at the Arena : John Nicoletti, marketing manager

John Nicoletti was singing the praises of the arena before it was even built. Now as the arena’s marketing manager, he does it for a living.

Nicoletti, 27, estimates he speaks to more than 75 service organizations a year, ranging from community outreach groups to rotary clubs, about the new entertainment facility. “It’s my job to make people aware of what’s going on at the building,� he says. “It’s not just a faceless place. We want people to associate the arena with real people. I’m just the person who happens to go out there.�

As a public relations officer for the city of Anaheim, Nicoletti helped plan the arena’s 1990 groundbreaking. When his job became a victim of budget cuts in 1991, it seemed only natural to move to the arena as a marketing representative. He was promoted to marketing manager the following year.

“It’s like having a child,� he says of his long involvement with the arena. “I watched it grow from its infancy as a thought and idea to its becoming a reality.�

“Every time I look at the building, it’s very satisfying to think I had a small part in making it what it is.�

Alan Scheffler, events crew worker

Picking up the trash that enraged hockey fans toss onto the rink might not seem like great work to most people, but for Alan Scheffler, 46, it’s all part of what he describes as his dream job.

Scheffler worked on the events crew for the Indianapolis Racers hockey team in the 1970s, but when he left the Midwest, he obtained a job as a salesman of industrial paints.

“I’ve always been a hockey fan,� he says. “You just get (hockey) into your blood. It’s great to go to a game, but once you’ve been part of the game, it just doesn’t cut it.�

When Disney announced plans to have the Mighty Ducks play at the new arena, Scheffler decided to go back to the job he loved.

Scheffler began an aggressive campaign of resumes, letters and phone calls to the arena’s management. And all his work paid off when he was offered work last month on the events crew, helping to set up and clean up for concerts, circuses and his beloved ice hockey.

Scheffler plans to keep his sales job while working part time at the arena.

“It (wasn’t) the money then, and it isn’t the money now,� he says. “It’s the thrill of being there and being a part of something.�

Wendy Anderson, concession stand worker

Serving hot dogs, popcorn and soda at the arena will be a part-time job for Wendy Anderson, 25. A former Knott’s Berry Farm concession stand operator, Anderson left the amusement park four years ago and since then has devoted most of her time to caring for her father, who suffered a stroke. When Anderson saw a newspaper ad for the arena’s job fair last month, she decided to see what the place was all about.

“It felt good, I felt happy,� Anderson said of getting her first paying job in four years. “I’m still in shock. . . . There’s not really a lot of jobs and everyone wants a lot of experience.�

Between arena events, Anderson said, she plans to keep working toward her high school equivalency diploma and possibly continuing on to college.

“I’m really kind of nervous. I’ve been out of work for so long.�

Bob Gibbons, ice engineer, Zamboni operator

Not just anybody can drive a Zamboni, says Bob Gibbons, the man who will be operating one of the arena’s two ice machines during every game the Mighty Ducks play at the arena.

“It’s not automatic, it’s more of an art form,� said the Minnesota native who has worked with ice machines for more than 20 years. “I can teach people to drive the Zamboni in two days but to make good ice with a Zamboni takes about two years.�

Every time a driver gets behind the wheel of the ice-maintenance machine he or she faces different rink conditions and thus must decide whether to flood the rink with water or to shave the ice.

“There are so many nuances and techniques and things that can happen to you on a Zamboni,� Gibbons says. “Every resurfacing is a new experience.�

And some experiences are newer than others. Gibbons, 42, remembers seeing drivers fall off the machines and on one memorable occasion, he actually witnessed a Zamboni driver accidentally ram a machine into the penalty box.

And that, Gibbons says, is why in recent years the Zamboni drivers have become great crowd favorites.

“Anyone can mop a basketball floor or clean a swimming pool but maintaining a sheet of ice is unique.�

Christy Castillo, box office supervisor

Christy Castillo says she will never forget Feb. 15, 1993, the first day tickets went on sale for events at the arena. Castillo, the arena’s box office supervisor, arrived at work that morning to find several hundred people waiting to buy tickets for the 1993 World Figure Skating Champions tour.

“There was a line going out the door and around (the building) for hours,� she says. “And there were only two of us� selling tickets.

When the Rowland Heights native applied for an internship with the new arena during her senior year at Cal State Fullerton, she did not know she would get a job out of it.

But Castillo, 23, loved the work she was given--talking to people attending events at Anaheim Stadium about the upcoming new arena--and soon enough, she was gainfully employed.

“I hung out long enough, and they said, ‘She’s not going anywhere,’ so now I’m box office supervisor,� Castillo said, joking.

She says she hopes to gain a greater understanding about how a large entertainment center operates.

“I think of this as a stepping stone,� she says. “I want to learn about everything from seating plans to how to build an event.�

“I like working in this building,� she adds. “Everyone here is young, fun and energetic. I see myself staying with this for a while.�