Inkwell, Knights Partners from the Very Beginning.

Ex-Interns Kenny Allin and Andrea Rodriguez Now Work for Downtown Corvallis Home Store

The Inkwell Home Store and the Corvallis Knights have enjoyed a close connection ever since the franchise's 2007 relocation to Goss Stadium.

Those ties between the team and a charter Corvallis sponsor are even closer today. Former Knights' intern Andrea Rodriguez (pictured) and ex-statistician Kenny Allin now work at the downtown store, a Corvallis staple for nearly 50 years.

Rodriguez is a merchandise and retail associate. She helps set up in-store displays, helps create the displays in the store windows, assists customers, helps with the merchandise selection, handles cash and card transactions and helps maintain the store's appearance.

Allin is the Inkwell's warehouse manager. He makes deliveries, oversees the store's warehouses, handles various maintenance projects in the store, and provides customer service.

Rodriguez helped run the Knights' 2011 merchandise stand prior to her senior year at Oregon State. She graduated in 2012 with a BS merchandise management, then did some travelling and before starting at the Inkwell this past August.

Her Knights' internship gave her real-world business experience.

"I learned a lot of merchandising skills: How to do inventory, how to select merchandise for the best chance of making a sale, and how to cooperate with others to make a display turn of successfully," she said.

"I have definitely used my internship experience with the Knights to help with my current position at the Inkwell. I am able to utilize my Knights' experience, and the knowledge I gained from my major, to help with the merchandising aspects of the store.

"I was hired because of my retail experience and my background in merchandising management."

Allin was the Knights' statistician, a very detail-oriented position, from 2009-11. He's worked at the Inkwell for the past three years.

"A lot of my responsibilities with the Inkwell require me to employ time management and multitasking skills," he said. "Working with the Knights during the season definitely helped improve my skills in those areas.

"I do see a lot of parallels between the Inkwell and the Corvallis Knights organizations. First, both are well-organized and have all employees contributing to accomplish something pretty impressive as a whole.

"Also, having bosses with exceptional work ethics like Pat and Amy Lampton and Dan makes it really easy as an employee to give it your best effort."

The Knights will announce their 2013 interns and support staff in the near future.