OPENING KICKOFF It has been about a year since COVID-19 changed our lives. When I look back at March 2020’s Opening Kickoff, the message was thanking our 3,000 volunteers and celebrating the new annual award winners. Unfortunately, with the inability to host many in-person events, we couldn’t call on our amazing volunteers to serve in the same capacity they have always delivered. Like everyone, we have been forced to re-think every aspect of our organization. Given the incredible need when COVID-19 hit, our Board of Directors approved a $1 million emergency relief donation to 18 nonprofits who, in turn, provided meals and youth programming.
FIESTA BOWL ORGANIZATION NEWSLETTER
The center of our thinking, and our actions, has always been to deliver on our mission to enhance the lives of Arizonans through youth, sports and education. Actions speak louder than words and we’re proud of how we served our community: bringing Arizona’s major sports properties together for the AZSportsTogether initiative, creating the Her Hidden Highness 50/50 raffle to raise funds for Arizonans, giving away 50,000 masks to teachers, partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona to form an Empowering Diversity Scholarship for 16 students to receive $5,000 each and so much more. We are More Than Just a Game®. Fiesta Bowl Charities is known for its annual charitable giving and serving. While the last year has been challenging for us all, nonprofits needed assistance more than ever. That is why it was very important that the Fiesta Bowl still deliver these necessary funds. We are part of this community and we will continue to give back. We are Fiesta!
VOLUME 17
Mike Nealy Executive Director