Boomerang

Cam Fuller’s athletics journey brings him back to northeastern Wisconsin

by Justin Skiba

Cam Fuller’s athletics journey has taken him from the golf greens of Door County, to courtside at the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, to now overseeing nearly 600 student-athletes and coaches at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Fuller – a 2008 graduate of Sevastopol school and three-time Packerland Conference Player of the Year as a standout golfer – continued his success on the links for the Division I UW-Green Bay Phoenix team as a four-year varsity letter winner in the Horizon League.

After graduating from UW-GB in 2013 with a degree in business administration, Fuller returned to the Horizon League, this time as an intern in the Indianapolis office. Over the course of nearly eight years, he advanced to become the league’s assistant commissioner for competition, branding and sponsorship.

In that role, Fuller served as the tournament manager for the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which went on after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 tournament. For the first time in the tournament’s 82-year history, all games were held in one state: Indiana. And Fuller was instrumental in the tournament’s success.

He has since returned to northeastern Wisconsin after being named St. Norbert College’s director of athletics and physical education in 2021, and we caught up with him to talk about his new position.

The following interview has been condensed and edited for space.

Justin Skiba (JS): What are you enjoying about your new position?

Cam Fuller (CF): For any individual to be successful, there must be a fit and a similar ethos. From the first conversation I had with the leadership team at St. Norbert College, I sensed a strong value alignment.

I wake up every day and have an excitement that we have an opportunity to make a major impact on the lives of our student-athletes and position their

Sevastopol graduate Cam Fuller took over as St. Norbert College’s athletic director in 2020 after his position with the Horizon League included work as the tournament manager for the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Center photo by Rachel Lukas. Top-right photo submitted.

experience in a way they will be proud to be a graduate of St. Norbert College.

I saw this as a great opportunity to build on what so many great leaders did before me while planting roots in an area that is important to my wife, Kaylee, and I. My family is in the Sturgeon Bay area, and Kaylee’s family is in the Sheboygan area, so it has been a joy to be close to family and friends.

JS: You had spent eight years at the Horizon League office in Indianapolis before coming to St. Norbert. You’ve gone from intern to assistant commissioner. Tell us about your progression.

CF: My experience at the Horizon League was remarkable, and I was fortunate to not only work with a great group of people, but develop lifelong friends. Jon LeCrone, and then later Julie Roe Lach, were fantastic commissioners who taught me the value of relationships and building a team.

I was able to grow in an accelerated fashion and throughout my time at the Horizon League. I worked in nearly every facet of the office, which led to various growth opportunities, and those experiences positioned me for success in my role at St. Norbert College.

JS: You served as the tournament manager for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your planning?

CF: One of the benefits of working in Indianapolis was the sense of community and how everyone wrapped their arms around events to ensure their success. The logistics of 68 teams playing in the midst of a global pandemic in one location took precision and a commitment to a robust set of safety protocols.

Usually you have three to four years to plan for an event of this size. We had three months, so we made sure to

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utilize that time and use it wisely. We were hosting one of the largest events during a global pandemic, and we felt a responsibility to the NCAA that we pull it off.

JS: How did your amateur career as a golfer guide your interest in pursuing a degree in sports management?

CF: I look back at my time at Sevastopol and UW-Green Bay as formative times in my life. I grew up in a strong household. My parents, Dale and Bobbi, and my brothers, Cory and Jason, taught me the value of working hard and being a good teammate. As the youngest of three boys, and having a father who coached girls’ basketball and a mother who coached youth tennis, I grew up around athletics. The values instilled in me at a young age have carried forward with me in my professional life and spurred my interest in sports management.

JS: What advice would you give a high school or college student who is interested in a career in the sports-management field?

CF: I would say the biggest thing for individuals is, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and connect with others. If you can develop good connections, it is likely someone will be able to vouch for you when the time comes.

When I graduated, I was ready to take a full-time job, but instead I took an internship. I would say the lion’s share of people who have progressed in the field know there is no shame in taking a graduate job and internship. You’ll learn what your strengths and interests are. There are so many areas in the sports field, and by taking the approach of learning what’s out there, you’ll be able to narrow in. During college, you don’t have to wait until the end. You have those three summers to find internships.

A Journey to Acceptance

Owen Alabado and Northern Door Pride

by Sally Collins

s a young adult, Owen Alabado despised being gay. A first-generation U.S. citizen of Filipino descent, he wanted to be “normal” and accepted and have a family one day. But in 1990s Janesville, Wisconsin, there were few resources for him and little representation of homosexuals in his community or mainstream culture, much less celebrations centered around diversity and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

“I hated being gay,” he said. “You didn’t see gay men getting married, having kids. That was completely foreign to me.”

In 1998, 17 years before samesex marriage was legalized, Alabado couldn’t hide who he was anymore. He came out during high school and faced an onslaught of discrimination, including death threats.

“Food was thrown at me at school. A teacher saw it and did nothing,” he remembered. “A guy threw a football at my head so hard it knocked me out. I’m a trained martial artist because I had to learn how to defend myself.”

Alabado’s family expelled him from his home senior year. He didn’t talk to his father for six years.

“Things are good now, but that rejection from your family affects your psyche,” Alabado said. “I had it rough, but I’m a fighter, an emotional fighter. Not everyone has that strength. LGBT kids are killing themselves. I was there and happened to fight through the pain, but some people can’t handle that amount of teasing, ridicule, hate.”

Long Road to Acceptance

Just a year prior, in Door County, Sandy Brown had started a PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) chapter inspired by comedian Ellen DeGeneres coming out on national television.

“That was huge,” Brown said. “A lot of people in this county started talking more about LGBT.”

But there was still stigma and fear. She shared meeting times and dates with local media, only to have them not appear in print.

“I talked to someone [at one local newspaper] who said, ‘It isn’t our policy to promote that sort of thing,’” Brown remembered.

But she persisted and has seen this county, and country, take considerable strides toward accepting and celebrating LGBTQIA+ people. She answered desperate letters sent to the PFLAG post office box, screened PBS and National Geographic documentaries about LGBTQIA+ individuals and topics, and celebrated Pride in a barn until Open Door Pride was established in 2017 and held its first annual festival in Sturgeon Bay’s Martin Park.

Door County has made progress, Brown said, “but there is still important work that needs to be done.”

Finding an Outlet

During Alabado’s teenage years, he found solace and acceptance in the performing arts. He majored in theater and performance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and found a community, a close-knit group of friends and causes “that fed my soul,” he said. He was the director of multicultural diversity for student government and president of the Gay Straight Alliance.

Upon graduation, Alabado headed to Los Angeles, where he landed small roles in Shameless and This Is Us. He appeared in a Toyota commercial and on a comedy special on Amazon Prime. He wrote, directed and starred in the award-winning series Dudes. But acting is a tough gig. To make ends meet, he managed a restaurant and worked at a gym.

“I was getting burnt out in L.A.,” he said.

But Los Angeles was a safe space – his home for 15 years.

“In L.A., you’re spoiled,” Alabado said. “There is every walk of life. Nobody bats an eye over your orientation or dress. But the industry is very self-centered. You have to be selfish and think only about you if you want to break in. I’m not wired to do that.”

Alabado’s longtime friend Mike Holmes, co-owner of the Wickman House and Trixie’s restaurants in Door County, encouraged him to relocate to the peninsula. “He knew I was unhappy, but I was terrified about moving here,” Alabado said. “Are they racist? Homophobic?” But the COVID-19 pandemic made it an easy decision. He made the move in April 2020.

“I love Door County – the friends I’ve made, the things I’ve done,” Alabado said. Along with managing Trixie’s and teaching at the YMCA, he joined a volleyball league, ran a karaoke night, went to his first Packers game, played broomball and even made a short film called Two Truths and a Lie, which premiered at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor.

“Owen is a ball of positive energy. He’s a good dude,” said Chad Kodanko, owner of Husby’s Food and Spirits in Sister Bay. “Rarely do people live here a year and know more people than those of us who have been up here 20 years.”

So in the early summer of 2021, when Alabado wanted to celebrate Pride, “a bunch of us jumped on board and said, ‘We’ll help you out,’” said Collin Doherty, owner of Roots Inn & Kitchen in Sister Bay.

But COVID-19 had put a halt to public gatherings. Then on June 10, the Sister Bay Village Board voted to allow public gatherings, giving Alabado about 10 days to pull the event together.

Kodanko and his team at Husby’s stepped up, along with Doherty and his team at Roots, plus those at the Sister Bay Bowl, Peach Barn Brewery, Bearded Heart Coffee, Wickman House, Pearl Wine Cottage and other businesses, plus an army of volunteers.

Mary Blichmann (Left) and her wife, Betts Williams, have found an accepting home in Door County since moving here in 2017.

Scenes from the first Northern Door Pride festival in 2021, which packed the house at the Sister Bay Village Hall. Photos by Allison Evans.

“I had so much help,” Alabado said. “I was overwhelmed by all the people who came out of the woodwork. All these people who procured raffle prizes, made posters.”

Sandy Brown drove to Northern Door on June 22 to show her support and congratulate Alabado.

“That little hall was just packed with people. It was wonderful!” she said. “I love to see young blood not waiting around asking someone else to do something. He saw a need and met it.”

“The music was great. The dancing was great,” said Louise Howson, the community coordinator for the Sister Bay Advancement Association. Her team helped with facilities and setup and partook in the festivities as well.

“That event was 99.9% Owen,” Howson said. “He is quite something, a great organizer. Pulling people together is not easy, but he’s good at it.”

“The community response was overwhelming,” said Doherty, who even spotted individuals at the event he was surprised to see. “To see them let loose, show support and be a part of it – it’s a testament to the community, to Owen to have that vision.”

Alabado remembered the dancing and the slew of people who approached to thank him for putting on such an event.

“An older lesbian couple came up to me with tears in their eyes and said, ‘We never thought we’d see this day,’” he said. Amid the festivities, he sat in the back of the hall, took in the scene and shed a few tears himself.

“Let’s be honest: There aren’t a ton of LGBT [people] up here,” he said, “but all these allies who came out – there was such a spirit of unity and acceptance. It was breathtaking.”

That was the beginning of Northern Door Pride (NDP). Alabado became president of the NDP board and Doherty the vice president. They added more members, wrote the bylaws and shared their mission: “To inspire the community to be the best version of themselves by embracing everyone, promoting self-acceptance and providing a safe environment to do so.” They want to bring visibility to the LGBTQIA+ community in Northern Door, to be a resource for residents and visitors alike.

“NPD is about awareness, inclusivity, whether you’re on the [LGBTQIA+] spectrum or not,” Alabado added. “The goal is to show the community you are not alone and create a safe space, especially for youth who might be struggling.

“When I was a teenager, in my early twenties, to see something like this would have meant the world to me,” Alabado said. “We want to throw together events that bring people together, people who wouldn’t normally hang out.”

Since Pride 2021, NDP has put on a series of such events: Carrie’s Prom, a Halloween dance; HUG’N at the Bowl, a holiday-themed night of trivia and games; and For the Love of Love, a cabaret coinciding with Valentine’s Day.

But it “can’t just be centered around fun,” he said. “We’re still solidifying the tasks we want to accomplish – outreach, advocacy. We want to make a difference at schools, get more involved in change up here.”

Kodanko appreciates that NDP is reaching out to a demographic that is often underrepresented.

“It exposes [the community] to their cause, their needs. It only makes us better,” he said. “It’s something centered around their lives. Generally, as a straight white guy, everything is centered around you.”

For Howson, the support and visibility NDP gives LGBTQIA+ people goes without saying, but it also recognizes the diversity of Northern Door.

“That didn’t exist before,” she said. “It lets people know they have support on a lot of different levels and an opportunity to celebrate who they are. It makes people more comfortable knowing they are a valued member of the community.”

“All of us on the board, the volunteers, none of us could have anticipated how [NDP] would be as big and as accepted as it is – in just a few months,” Doherty said. “We’re going to continue to grow and fill a need emotionally and financially to the community.”

And like planning the Pride gathering in June, people are lending support, sharing ideas and offering help.

“I just had lunch with a woman who has two LGBT children,” Alabado said. “She said, ‘How can I help?’ The response [to NDP] has been nothing but positive. I’ve been here two years, and it’s become my home so fast. I can’t help but want to make Door County a better place.”

Learn more at NorthernDoorPride.com.