Through my work in insurance I have had the opportunity to work with Jack and the American Family team for almost 10 years and they are awesome.
Jack and American Family are a team with strong values and a passion for building strong relationships. I’m not surprised that American Family was on a list of potential partners for the Brewers. I appreciate that the Brewers were looking for a company to join their crew that would positively impact the team and the larger community. American Family Insurance is the fourth largest Wisconsin-based company. The American Family group of companies has 12,000 people on their team including 4,375 in Wisconsin. And, they sell their products in Wisconsin through 300 independent contractor agents. The American Family team works hard to help people dream fearlessly which is what every baseball team is all about. I especially love dreaming fearlessly on opening day. Everything is possible in that moment! The American Family team is committed to being innovative, caring, agile, trustworthy, transparent, and passionate. Brewers fans, I just want to highlight how in this naming rights moment you can see the AmFam transparency in action. I worked for Tom Schieffer, the president of the Texas Rangers and one day during a bad losing streak I asked Tom if he was going down to the dugout to talk with the press. He said that you have to show up not only on the good days, but the tough days. Jack has shown up on Twitter to answer questions about the new partnership and to talk about why they are excited to support the Brewers and the Milwaukee community. These are the kind of people you want on the field with you.
From being an usher to working in the front office, I had an opportunity to see behind the scenes on what it takes to run a major league team. I’m sure costs have continued to soar for baseball teams over the years and now there is such an enormous competition for how people spend their time and money. From player salaries to maintaining the ballpark to seasonal employees to insurance to promotions and a million other line items, major league baseball is expensive. In this highly competitive era, partnerships are critical in helping ensure a club can field the best team possible while providing the best fan experience possible. For more than 90 years American Family has helped inspire, protect, and restore people’s dreams. With their financial strength, in 2017 American Family also helped local communities with $11.7 million total combined philanthropic giving. This is major league giving and with their growing footprint I am sure they are already helping in your communities as well. In the Brewers and American Family announcement, they shared that together they would also support community projects and would help refurbish youth and high school baseball fields. This is a win for the team, American Family, the fans, and the community. American Family is stepping up to the plate with a 15-year partnership with the Brewers which will help the team succeed on and off the field.
Brewers fans, I know the beer will still be cold on every opening day. And while the name may change, the dream to win the World Series will remain the same. I hope you will give AmFam Jack and the American Family team a chance a plate. I know they will hit it out of the park.