January 20, 2006
Mallards Blow The Doors Off To Benefit GMC, Illini Campus
Moline, IL – The Quad City Mallards will blow the doors off with a racing-themed jersey auction to benefit Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus.
The event will be held on Saturday, February 4 when the Mallards host the Rockford IceHogs in a special 5 p.m. face off.
The Mallards will be wearing special “one-time-only’’ race-themed jerseys for the game. Immediately after the game, the jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting emergency services at Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus.
Genesis will also receive the proceeds from a raffle for an expense-paid trip to the NASCAR Daytona 500 races and festivities. Raffle tickets for the trip will cost $10.
The popular jersey auction is now a 10-year-old Mallards tradition. Past jersey themes have included Valentine jerseys, 1970’s jerseys, tuxedo jerseys and Western-themed jerseys. The Mallards organization has raised more than $400,000 for various Quad City charities over the jersey auction’s history. The highest bid ever for a single Mallards jersey was $7,100 for the 2000 Millennium Jersey worn by Gary Gulash.
The funds raised from this year’s auction will be donated to Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus, which supplies ambulance services to all Mallards home games. Ken Croken, Genesis Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications said, “the proceeds of this year’s auction will go toward the purchase of ultrasound equipment in our emergency department that allows for faster diagnosis of trauma patients. On behalf of the many people this equipment will help, I want to thank the Mallards for their on-going commitment to the people of the Quad Cities.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with Genesis. They’ve been a loyal corporate partner for many years,” said Mallards President Paul O’Dacre. “Understanding that this is a big racing community, I think the fans will love this year’s jersey auction.”
Among other racing-themed events during the night, local racing legend Ron Weedon’s car will be displayed along with several of the trophies he won during his illustrious career. Weedon gained fame in the Quad Cities as the winningest driver in local racing over a career that spanned more than 50 years. He died last year while working on a race car.
