Wolves Honor Specialist Christopher Vasquez

Wolves Honor Specialist Christopher Vasquez

It was an evening to remember for military member Christopher Vasquez, who was honored at center court Wednesday night during the Timberwolves matchup against the Clippers at Target Center.

Throughout the month of November, the Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation, along with the Roger and Nancy McCabe Foundation and POPP Communications, is focusing on supporting Minnesota Troops and their families through the Operation: Minnesota Heroes Campaign.

Specialist Vasquez served with the C. Company, 34th Division Headquarters Battalion of the Minnesota National Guard in Iraq from February 2009 to March 2010.

“It was really amazing," he said. "I really didn’t expect such a loud roar from the crowd. It was pretty memorable. I’ll remember this for a very long time.”

The crowd gave Vasquez a respectful round of applause as Minnesota Timberwolves President, Chris Wright, along with Roger and Nancy McCabe presented the hero with a JJ Barea jersey during the 2nd quarter of the game.

“This is awesome. I’ll be wearing it (the jersey) for sure," Vasquez said. "I remember my first jersey was a Stephon Marbury jersey. I was a fan way back then.”

In addition, Skip Krawczyk, a member of the Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund presented the heroes with a grant from MMAF in honor of their sacrifices for our country.

In the past year, the Minnesota Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation and the Minnesota Lynx Foundation have combined to impact 2,028 organizations with $750,000 in-kind donations, 60,000 Tickets for Kids donations, 4,226 volunteer hours, 45 Heroes in the Making on-court presentations and fourteen $5,000 grants.