Wolves Say Thank You Through Annual Give Thanks Event
Members of the Minnesota Timberwolves organization gathered at SEVEN Steakhouse on Sunday evening to host and serve a Thanksgiving-style dinner to a room filled with military veterans and their families.
As Timberwolves President Chris Wright explained in a welcoming statement to the veterans, the night was an opportunity for the organization to honor those who protect our everyday freedoms.
"We are here tonight to say thank you to every single one of you… to your families… to the sacrifice that you have made so that we can do what we do every single day and have our freedoms,” Wright expressed in gratitude.
The annual Wolves Give Thanks event is a collaboration of efforts pulled together by the Timberwolves' FastBreak Foundation, the Roger and Nancy McCabe Foundation, POPP Communications and the Minnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund (MMAF).
The event is a part of Operation: Heroes Month, which focuses on supporting and honoring military servicemen and women and their families throughout the month of November. The goal of the campaign is to demonstrate the organization’s support and appreciation of those working to protect our country at home and abroad.
For Alex Hauck of the Army National Guard, the event served as a sweet homecoming, after recently returning from overseas.
“It’s pretty cool. This is my second event so far. I just got back from overseas about 3 ½ months ago. The Vikings threw something like this and now the Timberwolves throwing this… it’s pretty cool. I used to live in California and when I moved out here, I became a fan of all the teams out here.” Hauck said.
Roger and Nancy McCabe, who have partnered with the Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation throughout Operation: Heroes Month share in their passion towards recognizing and honoring Minnesota military personal such as Hauck.
“We are here today to salute you…. To celebrate you and to thank you and your families for the commitment that you have given for our beloved country… for keeping us safe and keeping us free,” Nancy McCabe said.
The Give Thanks event hosted veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, along with their families for a dinner. More than 100 people attended the event, where Timberwolves players Gorgui Dieng and Robbie Hummel, along with Wolves President Chris Wright, Roger and Nancy McCabe served food to the veterans.
The event held personal ties for rookie forward Robbie Hummel, whose grandfather was a part of the US Marine Corps.
“My grandfather was in the military,” Hummel said. “So it’s always great for me to speak to military folks firsthand.”
Neither Hummel, nor fellow rookie Gorgui Dieng, had prior experience in the food serving business. But, both appeared very comfortable in the role of “salad server.”
After dinner was served, the players walked around the event hall and handed out t-shirts and gift bags, along with posing for photos with the guests.
“It’s really cool to be able to come out and serve the men and women that serve our military,” Hummel said. “I think you don’t get to appreciate everything they do, you don’t see everything they do, but what they do for our country is phenomenal and I can’t even understand what they go through over in Afghanistan and Iraq.”