Well hello!! And greetings again from the west parking lot of the FargoDome, just east of Six Flags tailgating and across the way from new Team Makers vice president and fund raising chair, Terry Ludlum’s plot.
2013 is in the books and we have had a wild ride. The Bison went out and secured a 2nd national championship in football. Gene Taylor received the final approval for the remodel of the Bison sports arena. I am now the Team Makers president and….and…hmmmm…anything else…oh ya!…Head Coach Craig Bohl is moving to Wyoming to start a new chapter for him and his family. I’ll get back to that in a moment.
And with that, we welcome our new head football coach Chris Klieman!
Indeed 2013 was full of change, but as much as we fear change, we are still the Bison and we will face all this change like Bison, as “One Herd!” (also if you go to oneherd.com you can get some really cool Bison gear)
First off, we will start with Coach Bohl, he has given us 11 great years as our football coach. He has also become our friend and an intricate part of the community. I will never forget the first day I had the opportunity to meet Bohl.
Gene Taylor had just given him the job and he was showing Bohl around the area. He stopped in to the Fargo Curling Club, where I was doing everything I could do to someday be an Olympic curler. Lets just say Bohl’s coaching career is doing MUCH better than my curling career. Sorry, I digress. I told everyone after that first meeting that Coach Bohl is going to do great things for the Bison and hey, I was right! But we will all miss Coach Bohl and his wonderful wife Leia.
All I can say is Bohl, good luck, have fun, and lets set up that game with the Bison and Wyoming. I would like it to be a home-home deal; you come to the FargoDome, we will come there. Bohl, you will be missed!!
NEXT, we are proud to welcome the new leader of the Thundering Herd, Mr. Chris Klieman. We have all heard the stats. We know what he has done. Now, we will watch and see him take the Bison to the next level. Coach Klieman, I cannot wait to sit down and visit with you as we also endeavor to take Team Makers to the next level as well.
(Don’t worry, Coach. Our lunch will be paid for by Pat Simmers…. Oh hey Simmers, wanna go to lunch?)
The BSA, jam a shovel in the ground and lets go!! Mr. Taylor, along with Amy Ruley, Jack Maughan, and Pat Simmers (of course it was all Suzie) that has fought through the waters of fund raising, designs, and political fun, but it’s approved.
Construction will begin soon on what will be another showpiece of our Bison Nation. More of our student-athletes will be given a first-class facility to play, practice, study in. And we can have a meeting with Taylor and not fear for our lives if the barbell is going to fall down on you from the ceiling above.
This is an incredible accomplishment, but it’s far from over. There is still some fund raising yet to do. So if you have been sitting by, waiting for the right moment to donate to the Edge campaign, get off the bench, and donate! There’s still an opportunity to secure your legacy today! For information contact: Jack, Amy, Pat or myself. We will be happy to guide you!
All this change, some see it all as good, some see it as good and bad, but the bottom line is we have to carry on the mission of why we are Team Makers. We are here to do what ever we can to support the student-athletes.
I am very proud and excited to serve at the president of Team Makers for 2014! I would like to thank Ken Zetocha for everything he has done over the past year as president.
And with that, we welcome Terry Ludlum as vice-president and Fund Raising Chair. We still need to keep growing and add new members. We still need to do what we can to keep Bison Nation growing. There is no stopping the Herd! We just want to make it a bigger Herd!
Happy New Year to all of you! Let’s make 2014 the best year for us, our families, friends, and the Bison!
Paul Bougie is president of Team Makers and the co-self appointed king of tailgating along with Thor.
