Mission
Connect, encourage, and spur on community involvement and volunteerism.
Vision
Promoting community involvement and volunteerism, building stronger servant leadership in ambassador programs and community festivals.
Core Values
At Pass the Baton, our mission is grounded in core values that are truly REAL—Relationships, Encouragement, Altruism, and Leadership.These values serve as the foundation of everything we do. We believe strong relationships build strong communities. Through encouragement, we spur one another, sparking growth and confidence, and altruism reminds us to serve and encourage with selfless hearts. And with leadership, we empower individuals to step forward, inspire change, and carry the baton of community involvement to the next generation.
Our Story
The idea for Pass the Baton LLC was born out of a spontaneous conversation during a road trip to a Wisconsin wedding in June 2024. As Gina and her husband, Evan, drove by a Wisconsin Cheese Curd Festival, Gina was struck by how the community celebrated their love for cheese curds with a festival. This festival in combination with Gina’s love for festivals and ambassador programs for the past decade prior, eventually led to the creation of Pass the Baton LLC – a consulting business and podcast dedicated to empowering current ambassadors and festival leaders by providing leadership training and sharing of strategies to strengthen community involvement and volunteerism. Gina and Evan felt that connecting communities with one another was something they could sustainably do and have fun with. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” Hebrews 10:24. Since then, the ideas and creation continue to grow and we look forward to seeing where this goes!
The name Pass the Baton was inspired by Gina’s love for coaching track and field, where the baton is passed from one runner to another, symbolizing the transfer of knowledge and leadership. Just like in a race, the goal is to take the good practices from one generation of leaders, highlight areas for improvement, and hand it off to the next group of leaders, ensuring the sustainability and growth of ambassador programs and festivals.
Meet Our Team Members
Gina (Collings) Plotz, Founder
Gina Plotz is from Hutchinson, MN. She is the former 2010 Miss Hutchinson and 2011 Aquatennial Princess. She has a passion for lifelong learning and promoting education through mentoring relationships and extracurricular and community-based involvement. She has a Master’s Degree in Education and her Principal’s License. Gina is currently a middle school principal at Mayer Lutheran. Gina enjoys coaching track and field and figure skating, volunteering with various organizations, and event planning. Gina lives in her hometown with her husband, Evan, and their four children. When she can find time, she enjoys running, camping, and traveling with her family.
Pass the Baton LLC is the culmination of Gina Plotz’s lifelong passion for leadership development, community involvement, and empowering young women to become the leaders of tomorrow.