ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 31, 1996 TAG: 9612310104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCHOLS
KRISTI MAHAN'S JOB has brought a flood of calls from ``old friends I don't even know.''
Kristi Mahan's phone at Pro Player Stadium's ticket office has been busy lately.
It's her job to handle reservations for box seats and executive suites, but her co-workers know she has a special interest in every ticket being sold to Virginia Tech fans - she's a Tech graduate.
"Everyone is transferring the calls to me thinking I want to talk to all 20,000 people," she said.
She doesn't mind, though, particularly when Hokies stop by the ticket desk to meet her.
"It's like seeing old friends I don't even know," she said.
Mahan moved to Florida to attend the University of Miami after graduating from Tech in 1992. She's been working at the Pro Player Stadium since 1994 while getting an advanced degree in accounting.
She began burning up the telephone lines to the Orange Bowl headquarters herself earlier this year when it began to look like her alma mater might be in the game.
"I was calling them every day to see if they made a decision yet," she said.
"Every time she hears a big noise, she goes out to see if the buses are here yet," said Carmen White, who handles parking reservations at the stadium.
"She has not stopped talking about it," another co-worker confirmed.
Mahan will have to watch the first half of the game on television because she'll be working at the customer service desk. But she said she'll watch the second half live.
"I've been waiting for this for three years," she said.
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN STAFF Virginia Tech graduate Kristi Mahanby CNBworks at the Orange Bowl's ticket booth. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL