MACC Fund Friend Mark Wilson Wins Fifth PGA Tour Title

Menomonee Falls native Mark Wilson won his fifth PGA Tour title on Sunday as dusk shrouded the course in La Quinta,California.  It was his third title in 13 months, a feat shared only by fellow Wisconsinite Steve Stricker.  Mark’s win moved him into second place in the FedEx Cup points standings, just ahead of Stricker and third on the Tour’s money list, just behind Stricker.

Some members of the golf world are asking the question “Is Mark Wilson the most underrated golfer on the Tour?”  We will let that debate to the folks who know what they are talking about, but in the eyes of the MACC Fund, he is our favorite player on the Tour – for good reason.  One of the first things that Mark did when he joined the Tour in 2004 was to create a program with his friend and then marketing/business manager, Eddie Erkmanis, called “Making a Mark Fore MACC.” 

A mathematics major at the University of North Carolina where he was an All-American and won the Ben Hogan Award for the sport’s top student athlete in 1997, Mark and his wife Amy have donated $220,000 to the MACC Fund through this program.  They give a donation for every “cut” he makes and more for every Top 10, 20 and 30 finish.  Their gifts have ranged from $5,000 in 2004 to $40,000 in 2011, his record year on the Tour where he won two tournaments and had three Top 10 finishes.  Mark and Amy have given more to the MACC Fund than any other athlete in the MACC Fund’s 35-year history.

It is easy to see why he is the MACC Fund’s favorite on Tour and a valued member of the MACC Fund’s Honorary Athletic Board.  In addition to his great program, he is also the Honorary Chairman of the Lake Country Charity Invitational featuring many of the area’s finest high school teams.  Sponsored by Hartland’sArrowheadHigh Schoolunder the watchful eye of tournament director Tom Tallmadge, the school’s legendary former golf coach, the Invitational will be played atErinHillson April 28.ErinHillshosted the U.S. Men’s Amateur in 2011 and will host the U.S. Open in 2017.  Despite a busy Tour schedule, Mark always makes time to play a round in the summer with some of the Invitational’s top fund-raising teams never forgetting his days as a high school golfer for Wisconsin Lutheran High School where he was a state champion as a freshman.

Congratulations and thanks to Mark and Amy and your great family.  Thanks for taking the MACC Fund along on the Tour and thanks for your “Gift of Hope through Golf.”

John Cary, Executive Director  

     

Coach Petitgoue, a great MACC Fund friend, goes for #800

Greatness comes in many shapes and sizes.  In the case of Jerry Petitgoue, greatness is manifested in many ways as a husband, father, teacher, coach and through his incredible commitment to the MACC Fund as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).  Jerry has played an important role in helping the impressive organization donate $1.8 million to the MACC Fund through its annual Boys and Girls All-Star Games each year dating back to 1978.  Next to the Milwaukee Bucks who played an integral role in starting the MACC Fund 35 years ago on the retirement night of Jon McGlocklin, the “Original Buck,” the WBCA is the longest standing MACC Fund sponsor.

Greatness is oftentimes measured by wins and losses in sports.  In the case of Jerry Petitgoue, you can  easily measure his greatness in this way. Tonight his Cuba City basketball team will take the court in their holiday tournament against River Ridge (Illinois) High School.  Every coach will tell you that every game is important.  Secretly, they will tell you that some are special.  Tonight’s Cuba City game is one of those games.  A victory will mean that Jerry will have coached his 800^th win in his 44 years as a head high school varsity coach in Wisconsin.  Forty of those years have been at Cuba    City which he helped make into a perennial powerhouse.  The “winningest” coach in state high school history, Jerry has a record of 799-199.  Tomorrow night’s holiday tournament game will be his 1,000 game as a head varsity coach.

The MACC Fund has many friends whose commitment to helping the children is inspirational.  Some of them are legendary in their career accomplishments as well.  Jerry Petitgoue is one of those. Watching his team win his 799^th game on Monday against a fine Sheboygan Lutheran team was thrilling.  You can rest assured that there will be lots of children helped by the MACC Fund – thanks to its friends like Jerry Petitgoue and the WBCA – who will be there in spirit tonight along with the extended MACC Fund family as Cuba City goes for #800 for Coach Petitgoue.

Good luck Coach! And “Thanks a Million” to you and the other fine WBCA members for the “Gift of Hope Through High School Hoops” to the MACC Fund.

John Cary, Executive Director

35th Annual Bucks MACC Fund Game – A tradition that keeps on giving

 

Tonight is a special night.  It is the 35^th Annual Bucks MACC Fund Game tonight as the Bucks take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at the BradleyCenter in the Bucks only preseason home game. The previous 34 games have raised $1.3 million for the MACC Fund’s fight against childhood cancer and blood disorders.

Many know that the MACC Fund started during a Bucks game 35 years ago when Jon McGlocklin’s number was retired.  Jon and his good friend and Bucks broadcaster, Eddie Doucette, teamed up to help kids like Karen and Eddie’s son Brett who was diagnosed with leukemia as a two-year-old.  Since then, Brett became the MACC Fund’s first “success story,” is married and lives in Arizona.  In addition, the MACC Fund has contributed $41 million to pediatric cancer and blood disorder research in Wisconsin offering Hope for children with cancer throughout the country and the world. The MACC Fund has played an important role in helping the overall cure rate for childhood cancer to rise from 20% to 80% in the past 35 years. 

The Bucks have been with the MACC Fund every step of the way and events like the Bucks MACC Fund Game have contributed to that impressive cure rate success. Once again this year, the Bucks have donated hundreds of tickets to the game for the children, their families, caregivers and dedicated MACC Fund volunteers.

The Bucks always give the children helped by the MACC Fund a chance to be part of the fun. Ten-year-old Jack Bartosz and his twin sister Annie will present the game ball. Jack designed the TODAY’S TMJ4 MACC*Star.  He has battled cancer for more than half of his life. Ten children helped by the MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin will line up with each starting player.  They will get a signed ball from that player as a great memento of a great night.  Imagine how excited they are!   

Some of these children got to meet the Bucks during the team’s annual visit to Children’s Hospital and the MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders on Monday.  Despite the abbreviated preseason, Coach Scott Skiles wanted to make sure this great holiday tradition continued proving once again the commitment the Bucks have to helping the MACC Fund help kids.  As I said, the Bucks have been with the MACC Fund every step of the way.

Don’t forget, value-priced tickets will be available until Tip Off.  We hope to see you there.  

Thanks for helping the MACC Fund help kids battling cancer and blood disorders.

Happy Holidays and Go Bucks!

John Cary, Executive Director

Happy 35th Birthday MACC Fund!

Thanks to the support of ten of thousands of people, the MACC Fund is celebrating its 35th Birthday today. Birthdays are important to kids battling cancer and blood disorders. They are to the MACC Fund too, although we dream of the day when we won’t need to have another year.

We invite our friends in the Milwaukee television market to join with our wonderful friends from TODAY’S TMJ4 from 7 – 9 p.m. tonight as we celebrate the TODAY’S TMJ4 Sports Auction 4 MACC. This is the 31st consecutive year of live broadcast specials from the great folks at TODAY’S TMJ4. This is virtually unpredented in the Milwaukee market and likely around the country as well. Thanks TODAY’S TMJ4 and the generous Journal Broadcast Group. This is also the 30th consecutive year that Sargento Foods of Plymouth, Wis. is a generous MACC Fund broadcast sponsor.  Special thanks as well to Sargento.

Tonight’s show will end at about the same time the MACC Fund was beginning 35 years earlier. That “tip-off” ceremony in 1976 took place on the Milwaukee Arena floor honoring the retirement of Jon McGlocklin from the Milwaukee Bucks.  Jon and his dear friend and Bucks broadcaster Eddie Doucette co-founded the MACC Fund to help children like Eddie and Karen Doucette’s son Brett who was battling leukemia.  Thanks to Jon and Eddie and their wonderful wives Pam and Karen for daring to dream.  The MACC Fund’s first “success story,” Brett Doucette, is now married and works for a Children’s Hospital in Arizona.  The Bucks have been a steadfast partner under the generous ownership of Jim Fitzgerald until 1985 and Senator Herb Kohl ever since then.  Bucks Vice President John Steinmiller has been a MACC Fund standard bearer from Day One. 

The 35th annual Bucks MACC Fund Game will be Wed. Dec. 21 at the Bradley Center at 7 p.m. vs the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Visit www.bucks.com for tickets. Go Bucks and Thanks Bucks!

We hope you will join us tonight on TODAY’S TMJ4 from 7 – 9 p.m. as we celebrate a “Gift of Hope” which has generated over $40 million of research contributions in Wisconsin playing an important role in helping to raise the overall global cure rate for childhood cancer from 20% to 80% during the 35-year life of the MACC Fund.    

Please consider making your Gift of Hope at www.maccfund.org

Thanks for caring for children with cancer and blood disorders and thanks for helping the MACC Fund help kids for the past 35 years.

Gratefully,

John Cary, Executive Director

A great MACC Fund summer gives way to Fall Fun for MACC

The saying “Time flies when are having fun” certainly applies to the MACC Fund’s summer of 2011. It is hard to believe that summer has ended, meteorologically speaking and since we have the end of summer with the observance of Labor Day. It was a fun summer starting with the “Chili’s MACC Open” at Tuckaway Country Club in early June. We quickly changed gears to the 22nd annual “TREK 100 Ride for Hope” at Trek Bicycle’s impressive headquarters in Waterloo. The MACC Fund Golf Tour was in full swing throughout the always all-too-short season featuring over 20 golf events. The Tour included the 16th annual “BP MACC Fund Open” whose cumulative gifts passed the million dollar milestone! The MACC Fund’s summer ended with the annual Hartford Gun and Conservation Club’s “Shoot for a Cure” to benefit Women for MACC on the last weekend in August.

Summer gives way to autumn and more exciting MACC Fund events. Packers fans can’t wait for the September 8 kickoff of the NFL season when the Super Bowl Champions take on the 2010 Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. Friends of the MACC Fund will be cheering for the Green and Gold and its fine quarterback Aaron Rodgers who has embraced the children and the MACC Fund with the same passion he attacks opposing defenses.

Saturday, Sept. 10 will be “Christopher’s Shoot Against Childhood Cancer” at the Waukesha Gun Club in honor of a young boy who has captured the hearts of many. September 11 will find car enthusiasts driving to 6514 S. Lovers Lane in Franklin for “Gus’ Mexican Cantina MACC Fund Car Show.”

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s impressive CEO, Peggy Troy, told the MACC Fund’s board that the MACC Fund was the hospital’s biggest donor at the Fund’s 2010 annual meeting. The MACC Fund is proud to be part of the team in the MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital. As a friend and partner of Children’s Hospital, we encourage you to sign up for the 34th annual Briggs and Al’s Run / Walk for Children’s Hospital on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 to help advance the care of all kids. The fun starts on Marquette’s campus at 10:30 and ends on the lakefront. Visit http://www.alsrun.com/home.htm to learn more.

Friends will celebrate the life of Cheri Amore through “Clip for a Cure” to benefit the Cheri Amore Memorial and the MACC Fund at Pier West in Twin Lakes on Sunday, Sept. 18.

Sat. Sept. 24 will be a busy day with two events. First thing in the morning, the annual “Bob and Brian Plane Pull” sponsored by Frontier Airlines, Laacke & Joys and 102.9 THE HOG will give you a chance to pull a plane. Where else can you say you were able to do that? Listen to THE HOG at 102.9FM for exciting Plane Pull updates. Later that morning, Regner Park in West Bend will be the site of the inaugural “Shave, Brave and Save” sponsored by The Giving Three. This family friendly day will offer fun for all with proceeds benefiting important cancer and blood disorder family services and MACC Fund supported research. Women for MACC’s exciting “Couture for a Cure” on Oct. 12 promises another great Boston Store fashion show at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee.

As you can see, no matter the time of the year, it is always the season of caring for the children by supporting the MACC Fund. We encourage you to keep up to date on all of these events and more by following the MACC Fund on Twitter or Facebook or visiting www.maccfund.org We hope to see you this Fall. Thanks for caring for the children. We are proud and grateful to have you on the MACC Fund team that is giving “Hope Through Research” to children battling cancer and blood disorders.

John Cary, Executive Director

Timothy Emmett Steele loved the children and and his wonderful family and friends loved him.

Timothy Emmett Steele could very easily be regarded as one of those unforgettable characters we used to read about in Readers Digest. His all-too-brief life affected many people. The Dubuque, Iowa, native made Chicago his second home where he was a very successful representative for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. My wife and I had the good fortune to meet Emmett many years ago. After hearing about the MACC Fund from us, he was deeply touched by the children and the unique story of the MACC Fund. Following his untimely death while in his mid-thirties, he left a $100,000 gift from his estate to help the MACC Fund help the children with cancer whom he loved.

For the past 16 years, his friends hosted a party in his honor by carrying on his memory and his legacy of love for the children by contributing proceeds from the event to the MACC Fund. The final party was held on Friday, Aug. 5 at the beautiful Saddle and Cycle Club on Chicago’s lakeshore which graciously hosted nearly all of the annual “Midsummer Night’s Remembrances.” It was another beautiful night with the guest of honor handling the weather as he did throughout the Party’s glorious run. The popular “Afrodisiacs” provided the musical entertainment once again to the dancing delight of all.

As is often the case, all good things come to an end. It was a bittersweet ending like many endings are, but it was far more sweet than bitter when you consider that nearly $500,000 was contributed over the 16 years of the Party to commemorate and celebrate the life of Timothy Emmett Steele. I had the privilege to know him for far too short a time, but I knew him long enough to know that I wish I known him longer. People said he always made everyone feel like they were the most important person. He had a gift of friendship and caring and the legacy of that gift is the Gift of Hope his family and friends have given through the annual summer soirees.

The MACC Fund’s heartfelt thanks on behalf of the children and their dedicated and loving caregivers goes out to his family and all who supported the annual Party. Very special thanks goes to the organizing committee members of the T. Emmett Steele Memorial Foundation. They include Board of Directors Jim Clary, Peter Garvy and Dwight Ekenberg who was the group’s ardent leader with support from his wonderful wife, Robin. The committee members were Marty Crowe, Bob Howington, Bill Kelly, Ed Murphy, Brett Opie, Tom White, Kevin Carroll, Sean Hunter, Dave Stewart, Emmett’s sister and brother, Brigid and Mike, and his nephew John Mickelson.

Emmett’s spirit will live on in his wonderful family and countless friends and in the case of the MACC Fund, in the research his gift and his friends’ gifts have supported. He would be pleased to know that the overall cure rate for childhood cancer has climbed to 80%, thanks in part to this special Party in his honor. He would be the first to note though that the work of helping the children if far from done as shown by that 20% number. Hopefully the T. Emmett Steele Foundation’s loyal supporters will continue to support the MACC Fund, which would make Emmett even prouder! The assets of the Foundation will be liquidated by the end of the year with all of our remaining funds donated to the MACC Fund. We think that he would like that.

Timothy Emmett Steele truly loved the children and his wonderful family and friends dearly loved him.

John Cary, Executive Director

MACC Fund Friend Mark Wilson will have high school golfers cheering him on in the British Open

PGA Tour professional golfer Mark Wilson will play his third “Major” of the year this week. When he tees it up in the British Open on Thursday, he will have a special cheering section back home in the States of at least 12 golfers who had the chance to play with him on June 27 at Erin Hills, the site of the 2011 US Men’s Amateur Championship and the 2017 US Open. Wilson, the Honorary Chairman of the Lake Country Charity Invitational since 2007, played with three teams which were some of the leading fund-raisers for the annual Invitational which is sponsored by Hartland’s Arrowhead High School for the benefit of the MACC Fund. Hoping to help the MACC Fund any way he can, he has played with teams each year since the MACC Fund has benefited from the Lake Country Charity Invitational beginning in 2007. This is no small effort. This year it entailed a 12-hour plus day and was wedged in before an early morning flight on Tuesday to the Tour’s A T & T Tournament in Philadelphia. It also was the start of a three week tournament run culminating with the British Open.

Four golfers each from Arrowhead, Kettle Moraine and Whitnall High Schools played 6 memorable holes with Wilson. High school golf is near and dear to Mark’s heart. So is the MACC Fund since attending Milwaukee Bucks games with his dad. As a freshman, he was a member of the Wisconsin Lutheran High School team which won the WISAA state golf championship. After a great high school and junior golf career, he went on to become an All-American at the University of North Carolina where he was Mathematics major and won the prestigious Walter Hagen Award in 1997 for academic and athletic excellence.

Any follower of the MACC Fund knows that Mark is no stranger to the fight against childhood cancer and blood disorders. He and his lovely wife Amy have supported the cause since 2004, the year he joined the PGA Tour. In keeping with their desire to do all they can to help, they added an exciting new dimension to the Erin Hills event this year as an added incentive for the teams to play their best at the championship tract. They chipped in $25 for every Par and $50 for every Birdie made adding $3,000 to the 2011 Lake Country Charity Invitational proceeds which was played at Western Lakes Country Club in Pewaukee on April 29. This brought the total raised through the Invitational this year to $49,000, a remarkable sum proving that the players are as concerned for the children as they are for their game. The Lake Country Charity Invitational is sponsored by Hartland Arrowhead High School and features some of the state’s finest high school golf teams. The Invitational, under the direction of iconic former Arrowhead golf coach Tom Tallmadge, has as its motto ““Some kids play, so others might live.” The five-year donations from the Invitational which tees off the annual MACC Fund Golf Tour total $193,000.

The understated Wilson made quite an impression on the golfers he played with at Erin Hills. Steve Gerger of Hartland Arrowhead’s team noted “I was actually not nervous, believe it or not. He’s a real genuine guy, easy to get to know.” Nick Johnson of Kettle Moraine agreed saying “He’s a great guy. It’s like I’ve known him forever.” Arrowhead’s Kyle Driscoll commented “He’s awesome to play with. He’s really nice and very complimentary of everything.” Anyone who knows Mark knows that these fine golfers are not only good at hitting putts but they are also good at assessing people.

Mark, who has won four times on the Tour since 2004, is having his finest year in 2011. He is one of only three golfers who have won two tournaments this year, the Sony Hawaiian Open in January and the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. He has been in the top echelon in the FedEx Cup point standings since the second week of the PGA season and led the standings for three months following his Feb. 7 win at Phoenix where he an his caddy wore Cheeseheads on the famous 17th hole in honor of the Packers who were playing in the Super Bowl. He currently ranks sixth in the FedEx Cup standings and is ninth on the PGA Tour’s money list with $2,716,000 in earnings.

A member of the MACC Fund’s Honorary Athletic Board, Wilson’s “Making a Mark Fore MACC” donates to the MACC Fund for every 36-hole cut he makes in addition to contributing extra dollars for every top 10, 20 and 30 finish. Mark and his wife Amy have contributed $178,000 to the MACC Fund in the past 7 years, the largest amount ever donated to the MACC Fund by a professional athlete and his family.

No one knows who will win the Open Championship, but one thing is known for sure, Wisconsin’s high school golfers will be pulling for their newfound friend and backer, Mark Wilson. Kids battling cancer and blood disorders helped by Mark’s support of the MACC Fund will be cheering for him as well. So will I. I hope you do too.

John Cary, Executive Director

June’s graduation parties and weddings are always special

June is a time for graduation parties and weddings (and allegedly nice, warm weather). Saturday found us in Fond du Lac for the high school graduation party of our great nephew. It was such a nice time as the families of four high school buddies came together to celebrate this milestone in a park. It is a scene which takes place in small towns and big cities throughout our great country. It is a scene however which families whose children have been touched by cancer and blood disorders never take for granted. Graduations, like Proms and Homecomings are always special for these young people. Sadly, far too many never get the chance to have their graduation party which reminds us once again that we support research to honor those who have died.

Following this very special event, we headed south to attend the wedding reception of a very special young woman whom I have had the good fortune to know since her days as a toddler. Now a beautiful 31-year-old, she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma (cancerous tumors behind the eye, to the layman) when she was 3 months.

Nothing was said of her battle with cancer as an infant, yet there was a heartfelt reference to the MACC Fund. You knew from what her dad, a beloved member of the MACC Fund family, said – which was affirmed by the approving nod of his wonderful wife – that their hearts were full of gratitude to the researchers and the doctors and nurses who cared so lovingly for their little girl that this day which they always dreamed of was here. One can’t help but think of the range of emotions from looking back to that fateful day when they learned that their beautiful baby of three months had cancer to the image of her walking down the aisle as a 31-year-old bride with her dad on her arm. Ironically, the beautiful bride’s proud husband is a pediatric neurology researcher working in the MACC Fund Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin specializing in epilepsy.

June is indeed a month filled with graduation parties and weddings. They may be commonplace for most, but for those whose life has been touched by cancer or a blood disorder as a child, they are never taken for granted.

John Cary, Executive Director

A Day to Remember for the WBCA Boys All Stars

The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has been a wonderful supporter of the MACC Fund since the inception of the WBCA All-Star Games in 1978. The WBCA’s Girls and Boys All-Star Games held at the venerable UW Fieldhouse in Madison on June 17 and 18 respectively featured the top high school graduates in the state. This year’s record donation of $130,000 raises the 34-year total to $1.8 million.

One of the highlights each year for the players, coaches and the MACC Fund is the visit to the UW Hospitals and Clinics where the Girls and Boys teams hear from Dr. Paul Sondel, the charismatic leader of the University’s pediatric hematology, oncology, transplant service. This year was no exception when the Girls arrived on Thursday afternoon to hear about the research their fund-raising efforts supported. Following Dr. Sondel’s presentation, the girls heard from a girl one year younger than them who has spent her high school years dealing with cancer having been diagnosed with osteosarcoma as an eighth grader. This young woman was inspirational in every way and undoubtedly left a lasting impression on the teams just like she did on this writer. It is not easy to stand in front of a group of your peers and talk about cancer, but this lovely young woman did with a style and grace which belied her teenage years.

The Boys turn to hear from Dr. Sondel followed on Friday. The auditorium filled quickly and the program proceeded in the expected way highlighted by Dr. Sondel’s understated excellence which quickly captured the attention of the largely teenage audience. Dr. Sondel spoke of the illustrious history of the UW Cancer Center and noted, as he does every year, that the first bone marrow transplant was performed at UW in 1967 by Dr. Fritz Bach. The reference to that great accomplishment was different this year however. To the surprise and delight of all, Dr. Bach was a guest of Dr. Sondel’s in the auditorium. Dr. Sondel followed the commentary showing a picture of this legendary medical pioneer by introducing him to the surprised crowd.

A spontaneous standing ovation ensued to the delight of Dr. Bach’s proud student, and to the embarrassment – to some degree – of Dr. Bach whose stature as a scientific icon exceeded the stature of a room full of basketball players. When the applause finally stopped and everyone was seated, Dr. Bach quietly told the group that the acclaimed accomplishment was one of a team of people just like they were part of a team. Few in the room will ever forget this special meeting, to be sure.

Dr. Sondel’s presentation ended with the introduction of a young man who was a year older than the audience he was addressing. He spoke articulately about his diagnosis of osteosarcoma while he was preparing to play in a football game for the state sectional as a high school junior. He never got to play in that game or in the following state championship game. He never played football again. His story hit home with the young athletes preparing to play in their final game associated with high school, the WBCA All-Star Games.

Dr. Sondel’s fine presentation, the young guest speaker’s eloquence and the chance meeting with the iconic Dr. Bach undoubtedly created a lasting memory for the players and coaches. Dr. Bach is now 77. It is hard to imagine that his pioneering transplant which changed the course of cancer care for generations was accomplished when he was only 33 years old. Imagine the years of preparation and study which led to that in a world where today’s world of computers wasn’t even a dream. It makes the transplant which preceded man’s first steps on the moon by two years even more amazing. Dr. Bach’s vision and the courage to pursue it changed the world for those fighting cancer. Now bone marrow transplants help cure diseases beyond cancer.

Ironically Dr. James Naismith, who became a physician after creating the game of basketball which brought these players and coaches to Dr. Sondel’s presentation, was only 30 years old when he nailed the peach baskets to the wall giving birth to basketball. The similarities between the world changing efforts of these two physicians was not lost on the appreciative Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association’s Boys All-Star teams. They will leave Madison with memories of their All-Star week which extend far beyond the iconic UW Fieldhouse hardwood on which they ply their trade.

Dr. Naismith would be proud of these modern day basketball players. Dr. Bach will undoubtedly remember for years to come the standing ovation by an auditorium filled with players and coaches who joined together to raise funds for the MACC Fund to support the work of one of his prize students, Dr. Paul Sondel. A student whose acclaim extends beyond the borders of the United States and who, like his mentor, is continually looking for better ways to treat people battling cancer.

It was quite a day, indeed. Thanks to Dr. Bach for having the courage to dream, to Dr. Sondel for embracing that dream and to the WBCA Girls and Boys All-Star teams for extending their excellence on Dr. Naismith’s basketball court to support the MACC Fund by raising funds for Dr. Sondel’s outstanding UW research team research which continues to be inspired by a pioneering mentor, Dr. Fritz Bach. It certainly was quite a day.

John Cary, Executive Director

WBCA Girls and Boys All-Star Basketball Games on Friday and Saturday at UW Back MACC

The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has been a wonderful supporter of the MACC Fund since the inception of the WBCA All-Star Games in 1978. The WBCA’s Girls and Boys All-Star Games will be held at the venerable UW Fieldhouse in Madison on June 17 and 18 respectively featuring the top high school graduates in the state. Tickets will be available at the Fieldhouse for games which will take place throughout Friday and Saturday.

In addition to being the best on the court, the players and the coaches excel off the hardwood as well. Players in the state’s five divisions raise funds to benefit the MACC Fund and help children with cancer and related blood disorders. Many generous sponsors, donors and fans will help the WBCA contribute important research dollars to the MACC Fund through the 34th Annual Games. The impressive grand total through the previous 33 games is $1.7 million.

The Coach’s Association is the second longest sustaining sponsor of the MACC Fund following the Milwaukee Bucks which helped in the MACC Fund’s creation during a game at the milwaukee Arena in 1976. Their outstanding fund raising total of $1.7 excluding the 2011 games is the third highest in MACC Fund history following the TREK 100 and Women for MACC.

In addition to playing in the iconic UW Fieldhouse, the players will have a chance to visit with Dr. Paul Sondel who heads the pediatric cancer efforts at the nationally renowned UW Carbone Cancer Research Center. Dr. Sondel, an internationally acclaimed scientist / physician, will speak to the players while they are in Madison. He will be joined by two young students battling cancer who will relate their experiences to the players and coaches to “put a face on the MACC Fund” and their special efforts to support it. The MACC Fund has committed $6.5 million to support research in Madison since the mid 1980s. That research is conducted in the 14,000 square foot MACC Fund Childhood Cancer Research Wing in the Wisconsin Interdisciplinary Medical Research Center (WIMR) of the University of Wisconsin.

The MACC Fund thanks Mike Huser and Tony Scallon, co-chairmen of the Boys’ games, as well as the Girls’ co-chairs, Loren Homb and Sam Mathieson for their dedication and support as the Games Co-Chairs. In addition, the MACC Fund extends its thanks to all of the WBCA coaches, its Executive Committee including its longtime Executive Director Jerry Petitgoue, and Assistant to the Director and Past President Ken Barrett.

Head on over to the Fieldhouse if you are looking for some great hardcourt hoops. You can’t beat the best in high school basketball, especially if it helps the MACC Fund help kids. Thanks a Million, coaches!