Microsoft Hockey Challenge Raises $1 Million for Ronald McDonald House
Two-day Extravaganza Features Celebrities, Contests and Fun!
REDMOND, Wash., March 12, 2001 — The 2001 Microsoft Hockey Challenge raised $1 million this weekend for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House!
The two-day event held Saturday and Sunday at Key Arena was organized and sponsored by Microsoft Corp., the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Seattle Ronald McDonald House. Event partners include EMC 2 , Compaq Computer Corp., CommVault Systems Inc., Net IQ Corp. and Radio Disney. Hockey legends Wayne Gretzky; brothers Russ, Geoff and Bruce Courtnall; Cameron Bancroft; and celebrities D.B. Sweeney, Kiefer Sutherland and Tom Arnold were only a few of the famous faces who showed their support in the audience...and on the ice!
Event Highlights
| • | On Saturday, The NHL Old Timers overpowered CommVault 7-5. On Sunday, the NHL Old Timers/Hollywood All-Stars took on Hawaiian Airlines (winners in Saturday's game vs. CRI Advantage), beating them 5-4. |
| • | Up-and-coming boy band "Dream Street" performed live and signed hundreds of autographs at the Seattle Center McDonald's restaurant before their afternoon performance with Sweden's A*Teens, played before the T-birds/Winter Hawks game. |
| • | Emotions ran high in Sunday's featured game of Microsoft.net vs. Sun Microsystems. In the end, Microsoft.net took the game 4-1. Brian Valentine, Microsoft's senior vice president of Windows donated $5,000 -- the amount he pledged to pay per goal scored on him as goalie for the Microsoft.net team during the game against Sun Microsystems. |
| • | The Hanson brothers, notorious for their roles in the movie "Slap Shot" with Paul Newman, entertained the crowd on the ice and signed autographs throughout the event. |
| • | Great prizes were raffled out throughout the two-day event, including the grand prize - An autographed Wayne Gretzky jersey awarded to the grand prize raffle winner during the game! |
| • | A private dinner/reception held Friday to kick off the weekend event raised $150,000, with the majority of the funds ($100,000!) raised from three of Gretzky's jerseys auctioned off for the cause. |
How: Through corporate sponsorships, program ads, ticket and souvenir sales, raffles and auctions, the Microsoft Hockey Challenge has reached its goal of raising $1 million for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House.
Why: To raise $1 million for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House to support plans for expansion to meet the growing needs of seriously ill children and their families.
History: What began in 1998 as an internal company hockey game between U.S. and Canadian Microsoft Exchange employees has grown into a fundraiser of great grandeur. The 2000 event raised more than $750,000! This event is one of only several stops on the "Home Away from Home" tour, where the Microsoft.net hockey team travels to play other companies in hockey competitions -- all to raise money for the Seattle Ronald McDonald House and local charities.
Information: Karen McKay, 206-344-3379 direct; 206-228-4787 mobile; karen.mckay@sea.ddb.com
Electronic images of all games and events available upon request.
