For the Love of Parfitt!

We are just 19 days away from the Mount Pleasant Gus Macker Festival and we Finch Fanatics are endlessly working hard to make it the best festival yet!

Between promotional events, learning how one masters the jazz square and getting the last signatures needed from sponsors, the pace of planning this festival is really starting to pick up!

Although it is a tradition every year for the Finch Fanatics to be graced with the presence of the CMU Legend Coach Dick Parfitt, this week he was not feeling well. So instead of learning how awesome Parfitt is from the man himself, we found some of his biggest fans and had them come tell us themselves.

For those of you who do not know who Coach Dick Parfitt is, let me give you a short list of credentials that does not do any justice to explain just how incredible this guy is. 

Coach Parfitt:

• "His name is synonymous with success here at Central Michigan University."
• Lead the Chippewa men's basketball program to three Mid-American Conference titles-1975, 1977 and 1979- the most for any head basketball coach at CMU
• Won 192 games in 14 seasons as head basketball coach- the second-most of any coach in program history
• MAC Coach of the Year in 1975
• Six of the seven Chippewas who have their jersey numbers retired played at least one season under Parfitt. James McElroy, Melvin McLaughlin, Ben Kelso, Dan Roundfield, Dan Majerle and Ben Poquette- all six were selected in NBA Draft. 
• He not only attended CMU but played on the men's basketball team and led the nation in free throw shooting percentage in 1953
• Converting 93-of-105 free throws for 88.5 percent. He still holds CMU's single-season free throw percentage record.
• He was inducted into CMU's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990
• He is ranked nationally in tennis

Information from cmubasketballcamp.com

Clearly, this man has an impressive resume to offer. However, according to people such as Lori Irwin (CMU RPL professor) and Jeff Smith (CMU men's basketball assistant coach), it's not until you get to meet this man that you understand why he is a legend and on and off paper.

Although both had two different stories to tell about Coach Parfitt, everything they said led back to the same message: Coach Parfitt follows one rule in life which is that love rules everything. 

"I can use four words to describe Coach Parfitt: teacher, competitor, survivor and supporter," - Jeff Smith

Coach Parfitt is a man who shows everyone he meets what he loves about them. He tells people that you are not going to love everyone you meet, but you can find a piece of them that you do love and It is that piece that you focus on. 

Although we didn't get to hear from Coach Parfitt himself, it was clear from listening to just TWO people, this man is truly a genuinely amazing person and we as Finch Fanatics have a duty to carry on his legend through the Gus Macker Festival. Hopefully we get to meet him (and his wife, Pat, of course!) at the Festival this month!

In addition to learning about Coach Parfitt, the Finch Fanatics have started learning a routine for the opening ceremony! Make sure to check it out when you come to our festival at the end of this month ;D

We also just want to give a shout out to the promotions team for some Macktastic promotional events in the not-so-springy weather this week!

Also shout out to our T.A.'s this week because we love you three and you're awesome! Specifically Kevin this week.

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

Stay tuned for next week's blog!

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Volunteers put the "V" in MVP

Time is moving fast for the Finch Fanatics and we are more than ready to tackle this tournament head-on. This week our presence was graced with three special visitors!

To start off our class we were joined by some Gus Macker Alumni, Shane and Erin. Although it was surprise visit, we could not have been more happy to hear from them. With their tokens of advice on how to power through these next few weeks leading up to the tournament, we Finch Fanatics are inspired to show them what we're made of. 

It was also awesome to hear what opportunities have come to these two from being a part of the Gus Macker Family. The experience of event planning at this level has allowed these two to take what they have learned and stand out against other candidates in employment opportunities. We could not be more proud of Erin and Shane and also the CMU RPL Program.

Following these two, we were lucky to get a crash course in the value of volunteers from the lovely Suzi Tengen! After coordinating volunteers for 15 years in an annual benefit golf outing, Suzi knows how much volunteers mean to an event planner. 

With that said, here are Suzi's key pieces of advice for event planners who want to manage volunteers effectively and efficiently to keep them coming back.

1. Feed your volunteers.

They're going to be working just as hard as you. Give them food and reduce the chance of anyone hangry volunteers. 

2. Volunteers do not have to be your friends.

You need volunteers to be people you can depend on. Sure your BFF Jill is great fun, but can you depend on her to be at your event bright and early at 8 a.m.? 

3. Match skills to volunteer jobs.

Ruth was an administrative assistant for 20 years? She's incredibly good with organization and filing? Okay then. Let's not make Ruth part of the volunteer team doing heavy lifting. She would probably own the registration table though. You picking up what I'm throwing down?

4. If you give your volunteer a job, let them do the job.

Nobody likes a micromanager. The reason you are giving this volunteer a job is because you need the help and trust them to do it. (See tip number 2) It is your responsibility to train your volunteers. After you have trained them to the best of your ability, let them do the job. They are perfectly capable and that is the reason they are here.

5. Keep volunteers busy.

Volunteers do not want to stand around feeling unneeded. That is not an event people will want to volunteer for again in the future.

6. Make them feel important.

Number 5 and 6 are very similar because they go hand-in-hand. Keeping volunteers busy and giving them tasks you trust them to do because it matches their skill set (See tip 2-4) will, as a result, make them feel important to the event. 

7. Make sure they are identifiable.

It is not productive if you cannot easily identify the volunteers of an event. Even if it means putting them in an obnoxious yellow t-shirt with a hawaiian shirt over that. ;D Make sure not only you can tell who the volunteers are but people participating in the event. Chances are people at the event have questions and if you've trained your volunteers to the best of your ability (see tip 4) then they should be more than enough informed on how to answer all of those questions.

8. Anticipate their needs.

Whatever you feel your basic needs to function at your event are, you should also equip your volunteers with. Example: sunscreen for an outdoor summer event, bandages at a skating event, 5-Hour Energy for an overnight event, hand warmers for a winter event, etc.

9. Write thank you notes.

Last but not least, thank your volunteers. They are truly the backbone of every event because they are the people who make the small things come together and run smoothly. The least you can do is sit down with cute stationary and hand-write your gratitude to each volunteer for his/her help.

So thank you Suzi for sharing your volunteer wisdom with us. We will for sure keep all these tips in mind during the Gus Macker Tournament!

If you're in the Mount Pleasant Area on Wednesday, March 30 and get the hankering for a cold fruity drink, feel free to help out the Finch Fanatics in our Tropical Smoothie Fundraiser! It starts at 5 p.m. and goes until close. Just make sure to mention Gus Macker ;)

Catch you next time!

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Finch Fanatics: Back at it again with the festival planning

After taking a week off due to Spring Break, the Finch Fanatics came back last week ready to pick up right where we left off.

This week we were lucky to be joined by Mike Fuller, tournament director of Gus Macker national staff, for a lesson in tournament operations.

Mike explained the Gus Macker Tournament is the #1 of 3-on-3 tournaments in the country because everyone involved wants to deliver nothing but the best quality to the tournament's participants and spectators.

"Gus Macker is the Cadillac of 3-on-3 tournaments."

It is the high quality of this tournament that makes people come back. Even with everyone putting in total effort to make this tournament Cadillac quality, it can be easy to spot when things go wrong. That's why the second most important thing to remember about successful tournament operations is professionalism. 

Mike explained it is vital to pay attention to detail and deliver first class training to staff and as a result everyone will start to feel the Cadillac Treatment of this tournament. 

Thank you again for visiting our class, Mike! Have a great time in Florida!

Pictured: T.O. and Mike doing the Universal Handshake (a.k.a. One-two-You)

Check back soon to see what the Finch Fanatics get into this week! 

Spoiler alert: we are planning an awesomely entertaining video montage that everyone can get involved in. :)

P.S. We all decided to wear green to be cute and match. Not because of St. Patrick's Day or anything. ;D

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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 :)

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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

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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!

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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!

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