DATE: August 19, 2008 TO: ALL MEDIA
CONTACT: Kathy Maclean, President/CEO, 231.845.0324
Megan Payment, Communications Coordinator, 231.845.0324
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FUTURE OF LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN GUS MACKER 3-ON-3 CHARITY BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT DEPENDS ON VOLUNTEER AND SPONSORSHIP COMMITMENTS OF THE COMMUNITIES SERVED.
The future of the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Charity Basketball Tournament in Ludington depends on an increase in volunteer and sponsorship commitments, said Kathy Maclean, president and CEO of the Ludington & Scottville Chamber of Commerce.
“The issue of extending the Macker contract comes up every three years when the current contract expires,” Maclean said. “While Macker has been very positive overall for the community, 17 consecutive years is a long-time for any event that demands nearly 400 volunteers to administer. The local Macker committee, made up exclusively of volunteers, does a tremendous job but that job just gets more difficult each year as the number of volunteers and sponsors dwindles. And many of the Macker committee volunteers have been in place for most of those 17 years.”
The board of directors of the Ludington & Scottville Chamber voted in July to support the local Macker committee’s recommendation not to sign a new contract until the community responds to a call for volunteers and financial support. “Again this year, the Ludington tournament was the largest on the Macker nationwide circuit, followed by Buffalo, NY,” said Jeff Evans, Chamber board chairman. The 2008 tournament saw an increase in the number of teams participating and in the positive returns for local non-profit organizations and charities.
“Our tourney draws teams from throughout Central and West Michigan, from Grand Rapids to Traverse City and beyond. The Chamber and the local Macker committee have been contacted by individuals from many of those neighboring communities offering their support to continue the Ludington Macker tradition. This is a call as well for those groups and individuals to step up by providing volunteer support and financial sponsorships,” Evans said.
Maclean noted that over the 17 years local service organizations and non-profits have had the opportunity to raise over a million dollars, and the Gus Macker committee has been able to return over $300,000 to local groups and high school athletic departments that provide volunteer and other services during the event. “For many school athletic departments this funding has meant new uniforms or team equipment that otherwise the individual sport teams could not afford,” Maclean said.
Although the tournament has an extensive following among local and national Macker basketball teams, as well as generating an economic boost for local businesses, local Macker organizers say volunteer resources and energy have become exhausted in recent years. As an example of the effort necessary to produce the two-day event, approximately 100 individuals are needed as Gus Busters and Super Busters and another 300 volunteers are needed for registration, setup, teardown and brackets.
Dorothy Gamble has assisted in recruiting Gus Busters for the past three years and stated, “It has been difficult at times to recruit volunteers locally because it is my understanding that the current volunteers are tired, burnt out after 17 years of volunteering with very little new support from the community. These volunteers have dedicated numerous hours and energy to ensure a successful tournament, however, more support and addition volunteers are needed to assist the current them.”
“Reliable volunteers are needed because this is a highly recognized and popular tournament. I have been able to recruit Gus Busters from several new areas such as Holland, Baldwin, Traverse City, and Cadillac to assist but more help is needed and it would be great if more local people would like to be apart of it again,” Gamble said.
Mitch McNeil, chief executive of Gus Macker Enterprises, said he understands the obstacles facing the local Macker committee. “Ludington is and has been a favorite tournament draw. A lot of that is in part to the professionalism and effort put in by the local Macker volunteers. The Ludington tournament has been good for the Macker organization over the years, but I believe Macker has been good for Ludington and Mason County as well.”
“To show its support of the Ludington Tournament, Macker Enterprises is willing to commit to providing a number of Gus Busters future tournaments. We will tap into our player rosters to be sure the Ludington Macker has an appropriate number of Busters to officiate the tournament. We will also continue to pursue sponsorship opportunities for this tournament,” McNeil said.
As the decision to continue the Ludington Macker tournament has yet to be determined it has been made clear that the decision depends on community support. All options are still on the table and there are serious discussions on cutting the tournament to half the amount of teams and also to not sign a new contract at all. As a result, the Chamber and the local Gus Macker committee is accepting written comments from supporters and volunteers voicing their commitments to help with the execution of the event and from sponsors willing to commit to sharing in a portion of the financial responsibility.
Comments and commitments will be accepted through September 18, 2008, and can be emailed to Macker@ludington.org or mailed to the Chamber at:
For further information, contact the Ludington & Scottville Chamber of Commerce at 231.845.0324. OR...
PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM TO CONTACT GUS MACKER HEADQUARTERS
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City of Ludington
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Welcomes Players & Families to the
•2008 Gus Macker Tournament•
Ludington, MI! |
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The Ludington Gus Macker tournament, which has been one of the most popular and highly participated in, is located right on Stearn's Park Beach. The tournament's location offers teams the ability to cool off in beautiful Lake Michigan after playing some of the best local and national teams. The Stearn's Park beach is a family-friendly atmosphere with 2,500 feet of sandy shoreline, a grassy area with plenty of picnic tables and grills, a playground, mini-golf, volleyball, and shuffleboard.
In addition, Ludington offers a variety of accommodations, unique restaurants, quaint shops, scenic parks along the water and entertainment that will delight you after a day on the courts and at the beach.
As a result of the tournament's popularity and limited capacity in Ludington, be sure to register and find accommodations early.
Getting Here
Ludington is located at the intersection of U.S. 31 & U.S. 10 and is easily accessible by freeway from any downstate metropolitan area.
From Southeast MI
Take I-96 West to U.S. 31 North to Ludington
From Southwest MI
Take U.S. 131 North to I-96 West to U.S. 31 North to Ludington
From Eastern MI
Follow U.S. 10 West to Ludington
From Northern MI
Take I-75 South to U.S. 127 South to U.S. 10 West to Ludington
Air Travel
Air travel is available to the Ludington region through the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, the Muskegon County Airport, Manistee County’s Blacker Airport or the Mason County Airport, a regional airport with 5,000 foot runways serving charter jets.
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