MEMBER NEWS
JK&T Wings Provides Over $4,000
for Ricker Family Medical Expenses
O
n Jan. 4, JK&T Wings held an Eat
Wings Raise Funds event at the
Walker Buffalo Wild Wings® to support
the Ricker family during unimaginable
difficulty. The Ricker family has two sons
who were both diagnosed with cancer 11
months apart.
One year ago, their eldest son,
Brison, was diagnosed with a rare and
inoperable brain tumor with a zero
percent survival rate. And on Dec. 23,
2016, their younger son, Preston, was
diagnosed with thyroid cancer that has
spread to his lymph nodes.
Steve Cassiday, general manager
of the Big Rapids, Michigan, location,
approached franchisee Kent Ward with the
idea of hosting an EWRF for the family.
Cassiday is a friend of the Ricker family.
“When Steve shared the story about
JK&T Wings helped the Ricker family
remain #RickerStrong by hosting an EWRF
for the family and raising over $4,000 to
go toward the family’s medical expenses.
the Ricker family, we knew we needed to
do something,” said Ward.
BWW employees said the atmo-
sphere in the restaurant that day was full
of energy and had a “family feel” to it.
Management estimates that roughly 60
percent of customers during the dinner
rush were there to support the Rickers,
and during lunch, it seemed as if most of
the guests were there for the fundraiser.
The EWRF event ended up raising
$2,100. JK&T Wings also contributed
$2,000 to the family. In addition to
the fundraising, JK&T Wings made an
announcement on the local news station
to wish Brison a happy birthday; the
fundraiser was held on his birthday.
“Being able to do our part, to
support and give back, is what we are
all about,” said Ward. “The generosity
of the community and our team
members for the Ricker family was very
overwhelming and heartwarming to be a
part of.” S
High 5 Hospitality Sponsors Seventh
Annual Resolution Run
S
4
even years ago, a board member from
the Cancer Support Community in
Dover, Delaware, reached out to Buffalo
Wild Wings® franchise group High 5
Hospitality, LLC, and the Resolution
Run was born. The annual race has since
raised over $62,000 to aid the local
Cancer Support Community’s mission,
with $7,500 being raised at the 2017
event alone.
“Considering that there were two
new 5K races on the same day in the
state, we were very pleased with the
turnout, and the event went smoothly,”
said Alison MacKenzie, director of
marketing for High 5 Hospitality.
The race, held on New Year’s Day,
boasted 175 walkers and runners and
consisted of a 5K race and a healthy kids
run. Registration was held the morning
of the event at the BWW restaurant, and
following the race, B-Dubs® sponsored an
after-party.
Managers and staff arrived an hour
before their regular shifts to help with
the event setup and registration, which
were both held in the dining room of
the restaurant. In addition, roughly 10
employees came out exclusively to help
run the event.
The first 100 registrants for the race
were provided with a $5 gift certificate
for use during the after-party, which
included an awards ceremony. Roughly
150 participants came out to the after-
party, and the restaurant saw a 50 percent
increase in same-store sales for the lunch
day part.
“One of the tenets of the High 5
Hospitality organization is to ‘Serve
Others Well,’ and that is what events
like this enable us to do – serve our
communities well,” said franchisee
Bobby Pancake. “We’re very proud of
our ongoing partnership with the Cancer
Support Community and look forward
to hosting the eighth annual Resolution
Run in 2018.” S
Since the Resolution Run began seven
years ago, it has raised $62,000 for the
Cancer Support Community in Dover,
Delaware.