Almost nine years have come and gone since baseball returned to the nation’s capital in 2005. Though the Washington Nationals have moved from Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to Nationals Park during that time, a few game-day staffers like usher Rosslyn Dorsey Ferguson are proud to say they’ve been with the team since day one.
“I enjoy what I do, I take a lot of pride in what I do, and I look forward to working every game,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson, a Washingtonian who has lived in various communities throughout the city, currently calls Southwest her home and has resided in the neighborhood for the past three years. She has spent nearly the same amount of time at what she considers her second home – sections 209 and 210 at Nationals Park – where she performs a variety of tasks, from keeping the areas clean to showing fans to their seats. Of course, making the fans feel at home at the ballpark is her most important priority.
“I am a season ticket holder and Rosslyn is the best [usher] in all my time coming to the ballpark,” one fan said as he stopped to greet Ferguson on the way to his seat.
Ferguson is quick to reciprocate these feelings toward the fans in her section and she admits that they have given her something special in return – a love for baseball.
“I found it very interesting that the fans bring you in; meaning, they enlighten and excite you about baseball and the game,” Ferguson said. “Meeting the people and the fans, and being there to help them in anyway that I can is my favorite part of the job.”
As Ferguson sees it, the club’s move from RFK to Nationals Park has had an extremely positive effect on the Southwest community. “I moved here when they were still building the ballpark, so I watched the area grow and watched the fanbase grow,” Ferguson said. This growth has come through the building of offices, apartments, and restaurants which she exclaims have really “brightened [the area] up!”
Her enthusiasm for her job has kept her coming back all these years, and as one of a select group of people who can say they’ve been part of the Nationals family since the very beginning, she has no intention of leaving.
“I love what I do and I plan to stay for as long as I possibly can,” she proclaimed.
By Ryan McGlynn