Page 31 - BusinessWest 2024 Difference Makers

much the community had embraced the marathon and wanted to help
it live on, said Oldread, noting that, as the station’s on-air personalities went public with the need to find a new home, there was an outpouring of support and commitments to help take the program to a new, much higher level.
Food for Thought
Indeed, Beth Ward, director of Public Affairs for MGM Springfield, said the station received several offers to host the marathon, so many that there was almost a competition for the right to become its new home.
MGM Springfield prevailed, she said, and it has been a privilege to stage the marathon, an event that has become part of the philanthropic culture at the resort casino.
“When we got the call, it was
like Christmas morning; we were so excited that we were chosen,” she recalled. “There are so many of us here at MGM that live in Western Mass. and are familiar with this event and have taken part in it and donated to it. Immediately, there were so many people who were thrilled and excited to be there and support it.”
She said MGM Springfield set a record when it comes to volunteer hours donated by employees,
and a big reason is the Mayflower Marathon, with many of the casino’s workers on site early (as in 5 a.m.
in some cases) to help collect donations and load them into trucks.
“Our employees want to be part of this; they want to help make it successful,” she said, effectively summing up the sentiments of many others we spoke with.
That includes Nate Costa, president of the Springfield Thunderbirds, a Difference
Maker himself last year. He told BusinessWest that the team has long had a solid relationship with Rock 102, knowing that its listenership boasts many hockey fans. That relationship was taken to a new level when the event lost its home and then found one with another
of the T-Birds’ partners, MGM Springfield.
The team soon dedicated the Wednesday night game before Thanksgiving to the cause,
branding it Rock 102 Mayflower Marathon Night. That Wednesday
is traditionally a time for family gatherings and “bar gatherings,” as Costa called them, but the pull of the marathon and Open Pantry has brought more than 5,000 fans to the arena the past two years for “one last push” for donations.
“We’ve developed our own little tradition with this game, and we want to continue it and expand it,” he said. “It’s a testament to the work they’re doing at Rock 102 —
they’re driving a huge amount of food to the Open Pantry, which lasts almost an entire year.”
Costa, Ward, Lussier, and others credit the staff at Rock 102 — the on-air personalities especially, but
everyone that gets involved (and that is everyone) — with bringing a region together behind a cause as few other events in this region have.
“Over the course of the past 30 years, it’s become a full-blown
community event, where it almost has nothing to do with Rock 102
or any of us,” Bax said. “It has everything to do with different segments of the community getting involved in something special — collecting food.”
Well ... it has something to do with the team at Rock 102. Indeed, they have made this happen, not just when it comes to logistics, but from the standpoint of shaping an event that not only serves a community, but creates a stronger community, Oldread said.
And that’s why the team can collectively share the title of Difference Maker. DW
“We’ve developed our own little tradition with this game, and we want to continue it and expand it. It’s a testament to the work they’re doing at Rock 102 — they’re driving a huge amount of food to the Open Pantry, which lasts almost an entire year.”
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