With COVID-19 putting live sporting events on hold, the Cascade Collegiate Conference wanted to take the time to highlight families within our #ThisIsTheCCC community. Many of our member institutions have administration, coaches and student-athletes family members competing together, making the CCC truly a family affair.
CORVALLIS, Ore. – “Hey” was all it took for Ray Fink to hook his wife Pam. The two will celebrate 34 years of marriage together in June and for 26 of those years, they have been coworkers at two different athletic departments.
Ray is the Sports Information Director (SID) at Northwest University and Pam is the head softball coach for the Eagles. They also were in those roles at Oklahoma Baptist University.
“We met in 1985 in Intro to Computers class at OBU,” said Ray. “Fun fact: there were no computers for that class. I was the SID as a senior that year and Pam was the new freshman shortstop. I said ‘hey’ and we were married the next year. It was a pretty sharp opening line.”
Ray always knew he wanted to be an SID after he got a taste for it in college, but Pam didn’t start coaching softball until 1993. While their schedules can be hectic, especially when the winter sport and spring sport seasons cross over, the Finks do their best to still make time for each other.
“It has been a blessing to be able to work alongside each other,” said Pam. “It was very hectic especially when our children were young due to my softball travel schedule and the crossover seasons of basketball and spring sports. We very rarely saw each other or our kids. We may not have always been able to eat dinner together but we tried to at least have lunch together every day. It has definitely been a positive experience.”
Together Pam and Ray have raised two children: Fletcher, who works in child welfare and Collin, who is finishing his training as a Security Forces airman in the Air Force. It couldn’t have been easy with the hours Ray and Pam put in, but the two made it work and even got the family in on the sports action.
“My favorite years were 2009-12 when our first-born, Fletcher, was playing for Pam and working for me as a student-worker,” said Ray. “I also loved seeing Pam's Lady Bison team win it all at the NCCAA World Series and being the one who documented the event for the school.”
With almost 30 years of working together, Ray has seen the quirks of his wife come out on the field.
“Pam is not superstitious about anything except softball,” said Ray. “At home games, she makes out her lineup, folds in three times, puts it in her right pants pocket, takes it right back out and hands me the pink copy. Her first year at NU, Fletcher came up from Portland to see a game and Pam sent them back to the car because the team lost the lead after Fletcher arrived.”
Pam loves Ray’s quirks as well.
“Ray is hilarious,” said Pam. “He is very witty. He performed a stand up comedy act at our previous school during freshman orientation. He is an introvert so it was one of the hardest things for him to do. I was so proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone. It was very funny and he had the audience rolling with laughter.”
Even after so much time together, it’s evident Pam and Ray love each other and enjoy doing what they do with their better half.
“Seeing each other every day at the office,” said Pam, “it’s a privilege most people don't get to have.”
“My favorite part [of working with my wife] is just getting to walk down the hall and hang out with the woman I consider the best person in the world,” added Ray.
The Fink family at T-Mobile Park: Collin, Sarah, Fletcher, Kira, Pam, and Ray.