Q&A WITH B2B FOUNDER MIKE PEREIRA -- AUGUST 2023
You founded Battlefields2Ballfields back in 2017. Hard to believe six years have passed since then. You have said many times, in many places, to many people, that B2B is the best call you have ever made. Still true?
"Absolutely. As we all know, our world has changed a lot since I came up with the idea for B2B. What hasn't changed is the need for our servicemen and women, all of whom have worked so hard to keep us safe, to have a meaningful second career once they leave whatever branch of service they've been in.
"That was the goal when we began, and it is just as true today.
"One of the things that these men and women crave is to be a part of a team again. That's one of the most difficult parts of leaving active duty. You are no longer part of a team.
"Officiating, however, is a mechanism for anyone who has served in the military to be part of a new team, a team that is similar in many respects to their old team."
In looking back over six years, has B2B achieved the results you'd hoped for?
"When we started out, I wasn't sure what to expect. Simply because there was no real way of knowing.
"That's the way it is with any startup. The response has been terrific. We have B2B members from every state in our country. Some of our original members have reached officiating opportunities in the college ranks in a number of different sports."
Because of your NFL association and your visibility on FOX Sports, do some people believe that B2B is for football only?
"That has never come up, mainly because we have B2B officials working a number of different sports.
"Many people think I played football. I didn't. I was a baseball player, first in high school then at Santa Clara University.
B2B offers training and instruction to every sport that's being played because we need as many quality officials as we can get. TV concentrates mostly on football and basketball.
"But our members work in baseball, softball, volleyball, track and field, soccer, lacrosse, you name it. If a game is to be played, it needs to be officiated."
Working as you do for FOX on both the USFL and NFL, how do you get what needs to be done for B2B?
"For the past few years I have spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, because that's where the FOX studios are located. In between Zoom meetings and phone calls, I have been able to get a lot done. I am blessed to have a great executive staff in our chairman Bob Rivinius, our general manager Melissa Washington and our Board of Directors.
"In addition, we wouldn't be able to do what we do without the help provided by the sports officiating associations located around the country. They do a great job and aren't recognized nearly enough for what they do year-round."
How different are the goals currently compared to, say, the first four years of B2B?
"We have made a very concerted effort to broaden our base. A reachable goal is to have a thousand scholarship recipients. We have over 450 at the moment. Growth requires financing, so we have searched in a number of different ways to increase our fundraising, sponsorship opportunities and generating other revenue sources.
"All monies go back into B2B. We have also made retention a major priority. Once a person is accepted into B2B, we want that individual to become a recurring member. Our best recruiters are those who are already B2B members.
With B2B more well-known than ever before, what are your next steps?
"B2B has made a major difference in many of our members' lives. But the endgame was, is and always will be providing our outgoing servicemen and women an avenue to be between the white lines."
Between the white lines?
"Yes. Many service people played sports prior to their recruitment or enlistment. This is an avenue for them to get bak doing something in the sport or sports they played.
"While playing may not be an option, officiating certainly is. That's what we mean in saying 'between the white lines'. A person still has the opportunity to be on the field, the diamond, the court, the rink, the pitch, whatever is may be.
"It's like a new lease on a sporting life. B2B provides the mechanism, but it's the members in the program that make it go. It is all about our people and the dedication they show each and every day. I cannot think of anything more gratifying than that."
