Launch Party Success!

This past week was our Gus Macker Launch Party and we could not be any happier with the turn out!

Due to a snow storm last Wednesday night, Central Michigan University ended up cancelling school on Thursday which made some of us Finch Fanatics a little nervous, but our Launch Party was a complete success and we were able to raise about $2,300!

Huge thank you to everyone who came to support the Finch Fanatics at the Gus Macker Launch Party!

We hope you enjoyed all the trivia, silent auction and Hawaiian theme our Special Events Team incorporated into your night.

Which, speaking of, the Special Events team deserves its own shout out in this blog because without them, this successful Launch Party would not have been possible.

Stellar job, Special Events Team! You killed it!

Our class also wants to thank all of the businesses and individuals who donated to our silent auction. We got some pretty amazing items and hope everyone who won them are enjoying!

And one more thank you to Hunter's Ale House in Mount Pleasant for being the venue to host this Launch Party. I personally think it was a definite bonus that it just so happened to be sushi night. Highly recommend the Spicy Crab Roll because it was truly a magical sushi experience :D

That wraps up last week's events, but stay tuned to see what the Finch Fanatics tackle this week. 

Small reminder:

T-MINUS 60 DAYS UNTIL 2016 GUS MACKER!

Look out, because we're coming for you Mount Pleasant :)

Want to see what else we're up to?

Follow us!

Instagram: @CMUGusMacker

Twitter: @CMUGusMacker

Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

Short and Sweet: Polar Plunge and Launch Party

The Finch Fanatics would love to remind you, the majestic person reading this blog, that you have been cordially invited to:

THE 2016 GUS MACKER LAUNCH PARTY

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25

HUNTER'S ALE HOUSE

7-10 P.M.

So since you've been cordially invited twice now, it's probably fair that you attend. :)

Besides, this launch party has some pretty awesome features. We have some Gus Macker Trivia and a pretty awesome silent auction. Not to mention you can get lei'ed for just $1 (pun intended), trivia is only $1, and for those of you who are 21+ there is a $3 wristband for drink specials.

I like to call this the $5 Party Pack:

Lei: $1

Trivia: $1

Drink Wristband: $3

Spending your Thursday at this amazingly fun Launch Party - PRICELESS.

No worries about payment methods. You can pay with cash, credit or a check here, folks.

Literally no excuses for you to not come. 

Plus we accumulated a ton more awesome silent auction items such as:

• Endurance Fitness Memberships
• Hockey stick signed by Dylan Larkin
• Android Tablet
• Carrie Underwood signed concert tickets
• Navy Pier Tickets

There are many more but I guess you will just have to come to the party to see what goods we have to offer!

This week some of the Finch Fanatics also took on the Mount Pleasant Polar Plunge! This is a fundraising event to benefit Special Olympics Michigan Athletes. The 2016 Gus Macker team was able to raise an astounding $2,402! Which is more than double what the team raised last year! 

We were lucky on Saturday because it was a beautiful and sunny day to plunge in to 40 degree water! Our team was quite proud of the amount of money we were able to raise for Special Olympics Michigan and we cannot wait to see how next year's team does. 

Here are some pictures of our team plunging for your enjoyment:

Well that's it for this week. As the title says: short and sweet.

See you all on Thursday at Hunter's Ale House! :D

Want to see what else we're up to?

Follow us!

Instagram: @CMUGusMacker

Twitter: @CMUGusMacker

Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

I cordially invite you to Week 5

Welcome to Week 5 with the Finch Fanatics!

We are two weeks away from the Mt. Pleasant Gus Macker Launch Party and could not be more excited!

Let me take a second to officially invite you with this graphic and persuasive grouping of words:

You, the lovely person reading this blog, are cordially invited to celebrate with the Finch Fanatics and 100 of our closest friends the Launch of the 2016 Mt. Pleasant Gus Macker Festival!

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH

7-10 P.M.

HUNTER'S ALE HOUSE

(Cue visually appealing reminder)

What a lovely flyer that is to print out and stick on your fridge so you cannot forget this unforgettable event coming up next week :)

Our launch party is going to be pretty awesome though. Not only will there be trivia and $3 drink special wrist bands (only for attendees 21+ of course), but let me tell you about our silent auction. 

We are collecting some pretty incredible items for attendees to bid on in our silent auction.

Example A: Hawaiian themed Men's Sperry's Top Siders. (Great to wear to a Hawaiian themed 3-on-3 basketball festival. If, in case, you ever find yourself at such event.)

Example B: No big deal, but a Finch Fanatic managed to get a football signed by all of the Detroit Lions' wide receivers. Including, oh you may know him, a fellow named CALVIN JOHNSON.

That's just a lil' sneak peek for those of you who may or may not be cordially invited to attend the celebration and may or may not want to know what kind of items will be up for auction. (Stay tuned as we continue to collect some pretty awesome items.)

Besides the Launch Party, last week registration opened up for all 2016 Gus Macker tournaments. You can register for the Mt. Pleasant tournament here.

So if you are interested in registering your team sooner than later, please feel free!

With that said, we also talked a little more about sponsorships this week because without help from our amazing sponsors, we wouldn't be able to make this incredible tournament possible. 

Sponsorships are vital to any event which is why our sponsors get some pretty cool benefits. Just as an example, our $200 sponsors get a great package including:

1. A custom banner with their name on it on a court during the tournament.

2. A quarter page advertisement in the Gussette which is created by yours truly. This is customizable in whatever way the sponsor wishes. The Gussette is also in every player bag given to all participants in the tournament.

3. A 30 second PA advertisement commercial; 4 Saturday and Sunday. 

4. The opportunity to put items in player bags. (You got pens with your logo on it? You have extra water bottles with your logo? You have something cool with your logo on it? We love pens, water bottles and cool things with your logo on it. That is going right into every player bag at our tournament.)

5. A free team in the tournament.

6. Photos of court banner and signage post event.

I bold and italicize number five for a reason. This is so awesome and I think it needs to be emphasized that because our sponsors are helping us out tremendously and donating $200 to our tournament, we waive the $140 fee to register a team and just give one to them.

So let me help you out with why that is so cool:

200 - 140 = 60

Technically, sponsors get all of this cool advertisement for just $60 AND get to participate in the tournament. 

So if you're a business, looking for an awesome sponsorship opportunity...

I cordially invite you to look into becoming a sponsor for the 2016 Mt. Pleasant Gus Macker Festival because we love our sponsors, take immensely good care of them and would love to see you participate in the tournament you helped make happen.

We were also introduced to something new this year called the Pod Squad:

(From left to right: Rebecca, Maddie, Aaron, Jamie and Rachel)

These five have all been Finch Fanatics and a part of planning past Gus Macker Festivals. They will be assisting our court captains this year with some crisis management and are in charge of a group or "pod" of courts. If we need anything, they are here to help. 

Thank you, Pod Squad.  It's great to have you back.

That's it for Week 5 with the Finch Fanatics. Stay tuned to see what happens in Week 6.

Also, just a little shout out to this fellow Finch Fanatic, friend and all around talented and awesome person, Ashley Lonsway! Last week Ashley was offered and accepted the Marketing and Promotions Assistant position with the Lakewood Blueclaws 2016 season!

Congratulations, Ashley! 

We're all so proud of you! Have fun in New Jersey! 

You're going to rock it!

Want to see what else we're up to?

Follow us!

Instagram: @CMUGusMacker

Twitter: @CMUGusMacker

Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

A team that tapes together, stays together!

The Finch Fanatics are three weeks into planning the greatest 3-on-3 basketball festival and we are definitely seeing the pace starting to pick up! 

This week we focused on getting sponsorships, getting our player post cards out to businesses and brainstorming ways to promote the festival around CMU's campus.

This week was a little different though. The second half of our class time, our TA's Kelsey McConnell, Lucie Sertich and Kevin Troshak took over the class and put us through some team bonding activities. 

Don't they look like a giant ball of fun? Especially Lucie a.k.a. our Angry Hockey Mom :)

From a game called pulse to duct taping our teammates to the wall, everyone definitely grew a little closer this week! Even some of us who were able, got together for some bowling afterwards. 

In addition to some team bonding exercises, this year the Finch Fanatics are channeling our inner Bring It On cheerleading selves and will be passing a Gus Macker spirit stick between members throughout the semester. Just to make sure we are bonding with our fellow Finch Fanatics outside of class too!

Apparently the girl in the back doesn't have as much spirit as we do. ;)

The stronger we are as a team, the better we work together to create the best and most unforgettable Gus Macker Festival!

Want to see what else we're up to?

Follow us!

Instagram: @CMUGusMacker

Twitter: @CMUGusMacker

Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

Scott and Mallory take CMU

This week the Finch Fanatics were graced with the presence of Scott McNeal and Mallory Kunkel.

Scott “Gus Macker” McNeal is the founder of the Gus Macker festival, and Mallory is the Social Media Manager responsible for all of the Gus Macker social media platforms. (Also, a retired Finch Fanatic and the very first Gus Macker intern to receive her own business card! *Applause*)

Scott spoke with us about the history of the Gus Macker festival including how it began, challenges it has faced, opportunities it has created and how it has grown into the success it is today.

It was awesome to learn how the idea for a 3-on-3 basketball tournament was created right in Scott’s driveway back in 1974. Scott, only in junior high school at the time, and 18 of his friends gathered together and contributed $1/person to play.

As word began to spread about this unique tournament in Scott's hometown of Lowell, Mich, more and more people started showing up to the driveway to play. The tournament was then moved to Belding, Mich. to accommodate the amount of teams interested in taking part in the tournament.

The Gus Macker tournaments today have evolved from registering 5,000 teams by hand and using wooden baskets to a national corporation that has gained a reputation of hosting the best 3-on-3 basketball tournaments.

According to Scott, one of the first things he began to appreciate the Gus Macker festivals for in the 70s, besides the game itself, was the idea of everyone coming together to play a game they all loved. No matter skill set, size or experience, everyone was welcome to play.

“It wasn’t about anything besides basketball. It didn’t matter if you were white, black, rich or poor,” Scott stated. Everyone was just there to play.

Hearing these ideas and values from Scott has given us a deeper connection to this incredibly unique festival, and will allow us to serve the national organization the very best we can.

We now understand why Macker prides itself on staying family oriented, an equal opportunity for all and a friendly tournament that is made for the players by the players.

As a whole, we are more appreciative of what each Macker tournament aims to accomplish, and are one step closer to making the Mount Pleasant festival the best one yet.

Thank you Scott and Mallory! We can't wait to show you what we've got in April!

Want to see what else we're up to?

Follow us!

Instagram: @CMUGusMacker

Twitter: @CMUGusMacker

Facebook: CMU Gus Macker

Let the Macker Madness begin!

My name is Haley Burrill, and I am responsible for blogging our progress and experiences for the duration of the 2016 Gus Macker course at Central Michigan University. Through this blog, the Finch Fanatics hope to take you along our journey of planning the Mount Pleasant Gus Macker Basketball Festival.

The Gus Macker Basketball Festival is a great opportunity for CMU students to gain experience in the fields of commercial recreation, community recreation, event management and integrative public relations.The students will host the festival April 29 - May 1. The Gus Macker organization will donate $10,000 back to Central Michigan University upon completion of the festival.

We are all incredibly honored to have the opportunity to represent the Gus Macker Festival and carry on the tradition that has been passed onto us from the students before us. We plan to make this an unforgettable Gus Macker and we are all FIRED UP for what the semester will bring!

This year the Finch Fanatics are excited to announce the theme for the 2016 Mount Pleasant Gus Macker Festival is:

Hawaiian Hoops: Surfin' the Streets!