OPENING KICKOFF It has been over five months since the Fiesta Bowl started working from home due to COVID-19. While at home, I became more aware of how much relationships drive us – our successes, our sense of accomplishment and our overall happiness. How we treat these relationships is important. We want to be around others who are easy to work with, who care about the people involved and not just the task at hand. Our most significant memories will be of people and not things.
FIESTA BOWL ORGANIZATION NEWSLETTER
The intangibles of working with and believing in one another, putting team before self and working toward common goals carry teams to the top. We can’t fully control how everything we say is interpreted, but we have a responsibility for what we say and how it is received. Being more mindful of what is heard can be the difference in how committed others will be. Ultimately, positive connections foster greatness and deeper relationships. Or, alternatively, what Jon Gordon calls “Energy Vampires” can take over and derail a team from achieving its full success. Using new technologies like Zoom and Microsoft Teams while working from home has worked well and has been a learning experience. However, I’m excited to get back to in-person connectivity, where we can enrich our existing relationships and create more memorable moments together.
VOLUME 11
Mike Nealy Executive Director
NEWS & NOTES Win Big for a Good Cause Q
The Fiesta Bowl is proud to unveil a new progressive 50/50 raffle where the pick of the Queen of Hearts yields a grand prize, in addition to weekly payouts of 15 percent of the weekly jackpot. Dubbed Her Hidden Highness, there are various tickets levels to increase chances to win. It’s as easy as visiting www.FiestaBowlRaffle.com to play, ante up to win and support Fiesta Bowl Charities. The first of its kind by an Arizona sports property, similar raffles across the county have seen multi-million dollar payouts. Half of the entry pool benefits Fiesta Bowl Charities, which supports Arizona nonprofit organizations in the areas of youth, sports and education. Through its two annual bowl games in the Valley, the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl and the Cactus Bowl, as well as community events throughout the year, Fiesta Bowl Charities has given more than $16.5 million across the state of Arizona in the last nine years, including $4 million in 2019-20 year alone. PLAY NOW!
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? With this year’s move of The Masters to mid-November, we have the perfect lead-in with the Fiesta Bowl Par 3 Challenge, presented by Chapman Automotive on October 28-30. Due to incredible demand, we opened foursomes for Wednesday, October 28, at the picturesque Short Course at Mountain Shadows. This is a golf event unlike any other. Every hole features the chance to win a prize, including a chance at $1 Million, a new car or upwards of $100,000 in cash. The scramble-style tournament offers team prizes, a fast-moving round of fun golf and supports Fiesta Bowl Charities. Limited spots available, so please click below to pick your session or for more information. SECURE YOUR SPOT
PG 2
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2019-20 COMMUNITY IMPACT $11 MILLION IN CHARITABLE GIVING OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS
NEARLY 1 MILLION
12,000+ PEOPLE IMPACTED BY 6 NEW PLAYGROUNDS/ PLAY SPACES
PEOPLE SERVED
600,000+ YOUTH SERVED
$4 MILLION
IN CHARITABLE GIVING IN THE 2019-20 GRANT CYCLE
283,480 MEALS SERVED
SEASON RECAP VIDEO
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 3
NEWS & NOTES Wishes for Teachers This is the fifth anniversary of the Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program that honors, celebrates and supports Arizona’s teachers. K-12 public or charter school teachers in Arizona may apply September 14 - October 12 by simply providing what their classroom wish is. The entries are randomly-selected and 200 teachers will each receive a $2,500 grant to invest in their classrooms. Please share with all the teachers you know and have them visit WishesForTeachers.com for more information and to apply. In its four years, Wishes for Teachers granted over $3.2 million to Arizona teachers, impacting hundreds of thousands of children and nearly 700 teachers across the state.
Spruce up your car The Fiesta Bowl Organization and the Arizona Department of Transportation have created a custom Arizona license plate with Fiesta Bowl branding. Featuring the recognizable sunburst logo and Fiesta Bowl wordmark, the plates can be ordered at azmvdnow.az.gov. There are non-personalized and personalized (six-character limit) versions available, in addition to a disability Fiesta Bowl plate. For every sale of the specialty plate, $17 of the proceeds support Fiesta Bowl Charities and programs across the state of Arizona that support youth, sports, and education.
Podcast Hall of Fame A distinguished roster of guests has been filling the Fiesta Bowl Football Focus Podcast series. A pair of College Football Hall of Fame coaches hit the line-up, with Mack Brown, who guided Texas to the 2009 Fiesta Bowl title, and Bill Snyder, who brought Kansas State to three Fiesta Bowls and four Cactus Bowl games. These followed recent interviews with 2019 Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP and Arizona Cardinals draft pick Rashard Lawrence and longtime Ohio State and Arizona State Athletics Director Gene Smith. Previous conversations included 2019 Arizona Bank & Trust Kickoff Luncheon speaker Urban Meyer, College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock, two-time Cactus Bowl coach Mike Leach, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and four key players from the classic 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
PG 4
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NEWSWORTHY
Fiesta Bowl 50th anniversary: Created for ASU, Sun Devils dominate first decade ARIZONA REPUBLIC
Golden Memories from 50-Year Ticket Members FIESTABOWL.ORG
College Football Playoff committee to release its first weekly rankings Nov. 17 ESPN.COM
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
Fiesta Bowl in the 1970s AZ CENTRAL
A chance for children can be found at Sunshine Acres VALLEY INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS
How Bill Stewart turned “a world of chaos” into a Fiesta Bowl victory WTRF-TV
PG 5
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Robert Bridge, M.D. Physician AMISI First Year as Volunteer: 2013
Why I Serve the Fiesta Bowl: To give my time and expertise back to the community and to raise money for our charities. This is the single best activity outside work in my lifetime. It’s the best way to give back to our great community and State.
First Year as Yellow Jacket Committee Member: 2014 Favorite Fiesta Bowl Game: 1996, Nebraska vs. Florida. I’m from Nebraska and graduated from University of Nebraska, so that game was a great one! Most Memorable Moment: Escorting current Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos and his wife to the field to talk to their Cal Bear football son after the 2018 Cactus Bowl.
PG 6
Favorite Job: VIP Host Interesting Fact: I have two US Patents and three Patent Pending. I also have taken two mission trips to Peru with our church youth group.
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