April 26, 2017 at 3:23 p.m.
The Hodag hosts the Green and Gold
The Hodag hosts the Green and Gold
By By NATH staff-
The Green Bay Packer Tailgate Tour is a community outreach tour that serves as a thank you to their loyal fans while also assisting a local charity. Imagine the surprise on the face of Tammy Modic, executive director of NATH/Frederick Place homeless shelter in Rhinelander, when she received a call last August, from Cathy Dworak, the Packers' director of community outreach and player/alumni Relations, indicating that they had been selected as the financial recipient of the Tour. One hundred percent of all proceeds would benefit NATH/Frederick Place and the only catch was that they would be expected to organize an event of this caliber. Plus, this information was to remain confidential until the official announcement in February. She was told that fans would have the opportunity for up-close and personal visits with players Brett Hundley, Aaron Ripkowski and Jake Ryan and Packers alumni Robert Ferguson, Ahman Green and Ryan Longwell, along with Packer president and CEO, Mark Murphy. Raising awareness of homelessness and what NATH strives to do was an additional incentive.
While NATH/Frederick Place has been serving the homeless population of Oneida and four surrounding counties since Jan. 31, 2011, many community members don't realize that they operate on a $240,000 budget, receiving only $30.000 from the state and federal government. This leaves a $200.000 fundraising goal, annually, on their shoulders. NATH/Frederick Place has never seen an empty night. Over 550 men, women and families have called Frederick Place "home", costing an average of $43.25 per person, per day.
The committee of five, continued to gather together secretly to plan the many details that would need to be completed to make this event, for potentially 800 guests, a success. The group expanded to nine by mid-January. At times, the secrecy became a frustration and a hindrance in moving forward with recruiting additional volunteers, donations and sponsorships.
Once the official announcement was made by the Packers to the media in early February, the committee breathed a sigh of relief. Members scrambled, ensuring details were assigned to the rising number of volunteers and developed leaders to divide their roles in organizing food and beverage, VIP and sponsorship, raffle coordination and solicitation, and activities. Ticket sales began with a frenzy, as $10 activity tickets, $30 general admission tickets, and VIP tickets went on sale. Various sponsorship levels were procured from 30 individuals and businesses. Meetings occurred weekly, finalizing details regarding catering and food, setting up activities, including a bounce house, face painting and cornhole toss. Those soliciting met to secure additional sponsorships and various donations. Donations of cash, baskets, and gift certificates began to come in for the raffles.
Meetings were held with the police, fire, sheriff's departments and mayor to work out details of the escorted tour through town.
Publicity continued in the form of newspaper articles, social media posts, along with TV and radio interviews. Recruiting the more than 100 volunteers needed for the evenings event began with fervor.
The Tour drew more than 800 fans, some attending from as far away as La Crosse, Ripon and Milwaukee to partake in the festivities. Volunteer T-shirts were donated. Food and drink were donated. Over 130 volunteers came out to assist prior to and at the event, including 30 youth and 40 adults that were new to NATH. More than 500 volunteer hours were documented on the day of the event, along with hundreds of hours prior.
Packers fans lined up for autographs at RHS, while others gathered along Brown Street as the tour bus traveled from Northwood Golf Course, where the VIP event was held, on its way to the main event at Rhinelander High School. As hoped by many, the bus made a stop at the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce, to have a photo taken with our famous Hodag who was wearing a Packers hat, sewn by a local seamstress.
In the end, 21 businesses donated food, beverage, and supplies, valued at over $4,000 and 69 individuals and businesses donated items for raffles. The money raised from this event, will be used for current and future operations of Frederick Place and Modic believes that the larger benefit from this event is the vast amount of public outreach that has occurred both locally and across the state. Thousands more people are now aware of NATH/Frederick Place. While the final numbers have not been tallied, Modic believes the money raised in one evening to be approximately $40,000.
In addition to the tour, the Packers made several, surprise visits each day, in between their planned stops.
Locally, the group visited a school in Eagle River and St. Mary's Hospital in Rhinelander.
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