There will be those who have read the headline in fear that the United Way entry in Thursday afternoon’s 2nd Annual Cardboard Boat Race sponsored by Whirlpool Corporation has already hit the bottom of the St. Joseph River’s inner harbor.
Reality is that nothing could be further from the truth, we’re just enjoying a little corporate espionage, which is only fair inasmuch as United Way oar carriers were on hand last week when multiple Whirlpool boatbuilding design teams were hard at work in the open air of Fisherman’s Park outside the company’s Riverview Campus, assembling their own creations.
United Way mariners have a penchant for continually keeping their watercraft design elements under strict wraps and away from prying eyes. Having boldly flaunted on a Live United Radio segment earlier in the cardboard boat campaign that their design would “hit this one out of the park,” I surmised on the spot that they were, in fact, cobbling together a replica of Wrigley Field to commemorate the Cubs magical major league season of last year.
Take a gander at the photo accompanying this update and it becomes pretty clear that my prediction was decidedly more accurate than those who have been proclaiming for decades that “this is our year” when it comes to Cubs’ baseball.
While this is just a slice of the United Way team craft, there’s little doubt that the “Friendly Confines” will be very much in play when the intrepid mariners shove off from the seawall in search of encore victories for design and performance awards at Thursday’s party.
Whatever else is in store, make plans to join the fun beginning around 4:15pm on Thursday for team sign ins along the seawall of the inner harbor astride the Inn at Harbor Shores. There will be craft beer provisions, food trucks, family fun, and your chance to influence the People’s Choice to your heart’s (read: wallet’s) content.
Racing is slated to start around 6pm in another fundraiser for the Whirlpool United Way corporate donation team which is ready to hit the water with some 30 cardboard boat structures ready to sink, swim, or simply swing for the fences in another United Way extravaganza in Michigan’s Great Southwest. Do not miss this one kids!
