43
Thunder brass set precedent
Photo
Jerry Kurz - AF 2 commissioner tells how excited he was about the formation of the Thunder Foundation - The Mahoning Valley Thunder is pleased to announce the formation of the Thunder Foundation. The specific objectives of the Foundation are to provide opportunities for children, their families and other citizens of the Mahoning Valley with an emphasis on Positive Life Choices, Education and Physical Health.
Photo
Dr Michael Slyk - owner-- Jerry Kurz (Af 2 Commissioner - Dr John Saadey and Timothy A Chesney
By John Kovach
The commissioner hopes his league will capitalize on what Mahoning Valley has set in motion.
YOUNGSTOWN — Jerry Kurz, president of the af2, said that the Thunder Foundation created by the Mahoning Valley Thunder is a first for the arena football league and should serve as a model for other teams to emulate.
“This exemplifies what we want our team owners to do,” Kurz said Tuesday at the Chevrolet Centre. “This is a precedent in our league and it will become a model for expansion in our league.
“We want our teams to become an integral part of the community. We want the team owners to live in the community and be people who will give back to the community,” Kurz said.
Kurz said that the 27-team af2 league, based in Chicago, hopes to capitalize on what the Thunder and owners Dr. Michael Slyk, Timothy Chesney and Dr. Jon Saadey are doing.
“This is the first time that a team in our league is doing this. We hope that it will catch on with all owners,” Kurz said. “Each team should have a mission statement: What [projects] can we do that year-round help communities? [This] Foundation is sending a message.”
Kurz said that the af2 world will hear of what the Thunder is doing.
“You don’t know how much this means to the league,” Kurz said. “I’ll brag about what this commuinity is doing. It will be all over our website. We need to give back. This is a tremendous first step.”
Kurz said that the Thunder Foundation will become part of the af2 training manual for new owners.
“We send our owners to school and this will be another page in our manual that we will give to team owners on how they can do [what the Thunder is doing],” said Kurz, emphasizing that programs like the Thunder Foundation develop a “win-win” situation for the community and the team.
“By selecting a flag football program as the [starting point] of the Thunder Trust, the team is building a fan base of youth and families who then will attend Thunder games and give back to the Thunder,” Kurz said. “It is a two-way street and a win-win situation.”
Kurz said that youth football provides important lessons for life as well as being a fun game.
The sport is a good way to reach a lot of youth, who in turn can influence other youth; and positive values learned from the game can be spread.
Kurz also lauded Thunder coach Michael Hold for becoming the kind of community-involved coach the league strives to produce.
“Coach Hold also is this type of coach. We have some say in who the coaches are in our league, and we want our players and coaches to give back to the community on and off the field,” Kurz said. “Coach Hold knows the game and is part of the community.”