Winter Classic fetes 25th year

Former Miami Dolphin great Doug Betters provides a pithy mission statement for the Whitefish Winter Classic, which this week celebrates its 25th year of aiding critically ill children.

“The bottom line is we’re here to help families when they need it,” he said. “It’s very gratifying.”

Since 1985, Betters has tapped his friends and contacts in the NFL to attend the four days of fun in Whitefish to benefit his foundation, For the Children. Dollars raised help pay for non-medical expenses such as gas and hotels.

In more than two decades, the Whitefish Winter Classic has raised and distributed more than $1 million.

“I’m totally blown away by this valley and how generous people are,” Betters said.

NFL players lend their celebrity to attract people to events. More than a few also open their wallets to bid big bucks for items at the gala dinner and auction, this year scheduled Saturday at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

“Casey Fitzsimmons (Detroit Lions) has been phenomenal,” Better said. “Ed Mulitalo (Detroit Lions) has spent $15,000 to $20,000.”

He recalled that  Scott Gragg, University of Montana defensive line coach, once donated two Super Bowl tickets to the gala auction.

Because everyone volunteers his or her time, every cent raised goes to benefit the families desperate to get to specialized care in cities such as Seattle and Spokane. Betters said people would be surprised at how many times he hears from parents who don’t have money for gas much less a hotel room.

“They’ll say, ‘My son is dying and I can’t get out of town,’” he said.

In 2009, the foundation paid out a little more than $80,000 to fill gas tanks, buy new tires and sometimes even pay to house a family for months as it did for the family of Donald Marquis, a Eureka High School football player who was struck with acute myeloid leukemia in 2009.

Betters felt a close bond to Marquis, who dreamed of playing for the Grizzlies.

“He’s just a great kid,” Betters said.

Donald’s father, Dan, said Whitefish Winter Classic dollars again came to the family’s rescue in January when Donald suffered the second round of an adverse side effect from a bone marrow transplant. The painful condition caused him to erupt in sores.

Betters, concerned that Donald needed to return to the University of Washington Medical Center immediately, drove up with $500 the family needed to get from Eureka to Seattle.

“It was like a gift from God,” Dan said.

After several weeks in Seattle and adjustments to his medication, Donald felt much better although he still has a rash that resembles measles. Dan said his son’s spirits lifted and he had more energy with the new medicine.

The best news is that after three rounds of chemotherapy and full-body radiation, he remains cancer free.

“Every day we have with him is a blessing,” Dan said.

Donald was 18 when For the Children first helped his parents move from sleeping in their car to an apartment near the hospital. In view of the emergency, Betters said the organization bent its guidelines a bit to help now that Donald is 19.

“We made an exception for them to keep them going,” he said.

Ginny Meyers-Larkey said the flexibility of the foundation to meet people’s needs made all the difference for her family as they struggled to cope with their daughter’s Blount’s disease, a condition causing her child’s legs to bow out.

Whitefish Winter Classic funds helped them travel to Spokane Shriner’s Hospital for her orthopedic surgery and then back and forth for appointments. When she didn’t have cash up front, the foundation trusted her to return later with receipts rather than the usual reimbursement procedure.

“They were a lifesaver,” she said. “When my truck broke down, they paid to have it fixed.”

Meyers-Larkey said Whitefish Winter Classic money also rescued her brother and sister-in-law by repairing the vehicle they needed to visit their premature baby in treatment in a Missoula Hospital for three months.

She couldn’t say enough good about the organization and volunteers.

“They helped with every aspect you can imagine,” Meyers-Larkey said. “They never asked for anything in return.”

Betters said he gets so much gratification from chance encounters with people who were helped during medical emergencies by Winter Classic funds. He said they occur on a weekly basis.

He told the story of his wife of three years, Jennifer, who works at Glacier Fund. Because Betters’ driveway becomes difficult to navigate in winter, the UPS man dropped off a For the Children delivery at Jennifer’s workplace.

After signing for the package, a co-worker recognized the name. She told Jennifer that the foundation had just helped her 17-year-old son during a medical emergency a few months earlier.

“Her son is now doing great,” Betters said. “He had a congenital heart situation.”

Both Betters and Jennifer spend endless hours working with an army of volunteers who put together the Whitefish Winter Classic, then distribute and track the money. He said some who have put in years of work, like Susan Abell, have retired recently.

“We’re in a little transition now,” he said. “We’re looking for volunteers to help us. When you put on a four-day event, there are so many details. But it’s a labor of love.”

Betters credited Jennifer as the one with planning expertise so critical to the success of the event. He said the 25th Whitefish Winter Classic, starting Thursday, sports an exceptionally exciting roster of football celebrities.

In addition to with Fitzsimmons, Mulitalo and Gragg, people have a chance to rub elbows with Colt Anderson of the Minnesota Vikings, Justin Green of the Arizona Cardinals, Tuff Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers, retired New York Jet Rocky Klever, Haloti Ngata of the Baltimore Ravens, Tyler Polumbus of the Denver Broncos, Grey Ruegamer of the Seattle Seahawks and Grizzly mascot Monte.

New celebrity guests include former Grizzly kicker Dan Carpenter and running back Lex Hilliard of the Miami Dolphins, recent Griz great Marc Mariani and new UM head football coach Robin Pflugard.

As Betters envisioned 25 years ago, the football celebrities come to relax, play in the snow, marvel at the scenery and drink a beer or two while benefiting children.

“NFL players are kids at heart and they have a good feeling about children,” Betters said.

In recent years, he said it’s become harder to schedule NFL football players due to intense off-season training activities. Betters said they spend 10 to 11 1/2 months working out.

“Ours was six months on and six months off,” he said. “I also made only $32,000 in 1978 and I thought I was quite wealthy. Now guys make more in one season than I made in my whole career.”

Though he retired from football in 1987, Betters, 53, has not been forgotten by the Miami Dolphins. In 2008, he was inducted into the Ring of Honor, which placed his name on display in the stadium.

“I was introduced during halftime,” he  said. “The Dolphins have a really strong alumni program.”

His continuing relationship with the NFL has given Betters the connections to bring more than 375 football players to Whitefish over the last 25 years. Some, like Mulitalo, have come back for multiple visits with their wives and children.

“It’s turned into a real family affair,” Betters said.

Because of today’s huge contracts, not many NFL players risk their physical well-being by skiing. But a few still cut a menacing figure on the slopes.

 Ngata, a 6-4, 345-pound defensive tackle, still flies down the mountain.

“You better get out of his way,” Betters said with a laugh. “But he really is a gentle giant.”

Even without skiing, the players have plenty of fun attending the Whitefish Winter Classic’s diverse events. It begins with a kickoff party Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Crush Wine Bar in Whitefish.

Betters was eagerly anticipating this year’s silver-anniversary celebration.

“We’ll have a good old time,” he said.

For more information about the organization, volunteering and events, visit www.whitefishwinterclassic.org or call Betters at 862-8146.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.