Return To Packer Stockholder Page

Home

This is an exciting time for the Packers. The stadium renovation is moving forward and Lambeau Field is looking really good. While the construction has a year to go, many features of the new facility will be ready for the coming season.

I also got Season Tickets with the "Green" package this year. The Packers have had SINGLE seat tickets available to anyone who wants them. I got two tickets, same section, Row 52 and Row 53, Seat 3 and Seat 3. Not bad for "singles!" So I'm ready for the season to start and settle into my little corner of Packerland.

Shall we get into the meeting? Please note: I make no attempt to provide a word-for-word transcript of the meeting. I take notes and highlight what seems interesting. I try to provide the flavor of the meeting and what it's like to be there. At the same time, I try to be as accurate as possible for those who enjoy the "historical" account.

THE MEETING

During the pre-meeting time as people are arriving, they play a highlight film of the 2001 season. Short and simple, but it's fun to watch.

Bob Harlan calls the meeting to order. The secretary gives numbers of shares in attendance through those present or by proxy and informs declares a quorum is present.

Mike Sherman is introduced to report on football operations. Mike is given a standing ovation. Mike begins by thanking Bob Harlan and John Jones for their efforts in bringing Green Bay a world class facility, one that preserves the past, meets the needs of the present, and will have a lasting legacy for the future. The stadium renovation displays  an attitude for wanting to win.

Sherman then got into his report, breaking it down into numerous subjects. I will list each topic as delivered and provide details that I thought were noteworthy:

• Player injuries

• Developmental players - Sherman discussed the young players who have had a minimal impact on the team. He wants to get more out of them, especially with the way the NFL works now. On average you have a player for 4 years before they move on so you need to get as much out of them as you can while they're with your team.

• Weight conditioning - Discussed players who are coming in overweight.

• March 1st cuts - You got the usual coach's regret of having to cut players, but we do accept it as a fact of life. Sherman made the analogy of his two daughters: The older daughter has recently moved out because of college. This has allowed the younger one to "step up" because she no longer is in the shadow of her older sister. This has given the younger daughter a chance to grow up and prove what she can do. In terms of the team, cutting some of the older veterans will now give the younger ones to come out from their shadow and grow as a player and provide new leadership for the team.

• Offseason acquisitions - Sherman talked for a minute on how great it was to be with the Packers because players who are looking for a team want to be with the Packers. Players are aware of our history, the fans, and the new stadium shows we're committed to winning. Players want to come here which makes it easier with his job.

• Unrestricted free agents - covered players we lost and gained.

• Restricted free agents

• Future signings

• 2002 Drafted players - Sherman thanked everyone for their phones calls and letters concerning the 2002 draft. (Lots of laughter over that). Sherman then explained why we did what we did in the draft. He called Javon Walker a mature young man but with a child-like heart, a lot like our quarterback (more laughter). As for Davenport and his "legal" problem, he brushed it off saying we all weren't the smartest when we were younger. Aaron Kampman, a new kid from Iowa, Sherman said he drove his tractor here and hasn't left. (Even more laughter).

• NFL Europe players

• June 1 Needs (Line backer, running back, punt returner)

• June 1 cuts (mostly covered Antonio Freeman)

• 2002 Offense

• 2002 Defense

• 2002 Special teams

• The next season: Sherman broke it down into 5 segments:

  • First game of season - He wants to start with a win

  • The next 5 games

  • The Bye week

  • Bye week thru to Tampa Bay game

  • Bears thru end of season

• Where we are (discussed players)

• Where we're going - this involves winning at home, win division, win conference, win Superbowl

• How we're getting there: develop talent, team chemistry (loyalty, trust, respect), mental toughness, commitment to being a Packer

Sherman concluded by showing a graphic of the Lombardi Trophy. That's what he wants, that's what it's going to be all about. Newspaper reported that Sherman's segment lasted 50 minutes, which sounds about right. He was articulate, confident, personable, and all around impressive.

Andrew Brandt then provided a Salary Cap Report. Brandt was a great speaker and fun to listen to, but he didn't really provide much for details. Lots of good quips and sound bites for the media. "When an agent says it's not about the money, it's about the money."

Retail Operations gave a report mainly on providing shareholder apparel. They didn't sell the usual shirts and hats this year, but it was due to the new Pro Shop being built as part of the stadium renovation. The new Pro Shop sounds like it will be a great addition to the new facilities.

John Underwood gave the Treasurer's Report. Nothing new beyond what you can read in the newspaper.

Investment Committee Report - We got money in the bank.

Audit Committee gave the Packers a "clean opinion" for their accounting practices.

Corporate Marketing Committee Report - Packers were #2 last year for Pro Shop sales compared to the other teams.

Charities Report - Packers donate time, money, and artifacts to be used for charities. Last year was the first time the Packers went over $1 million in what they provided to the community for charities.

Lambeau Field Update - Phase I of the project is complete. While a fair amount of time was given for this segment, there was nothing new to report. Everything is going extremely well and it's easy I guess to devote a lot of time to good news.

Director of Affairs Report - The Board provides recommendations for nominees to be elected. Through the Packers Bylaws, there are provisions for shareholders to nominate candidates for the board. There were 7 such nominees. 97.5% of outstanding shares voted to elect the nominees provided by the Board.

QUESTION and ANSWER (my favorite part of the meeting!)

Q: Could tours be provided of the new stadium?

A: We looked into the possibility of having the stockholders tour the facilities but we couldn't for insurance reasons. We will try to do so for next year. (Wow! if only...!)

Q: Current Parking (because of the lost spaces due to construction) is UNACCEPTABLE!

A: We made several arrangements with nearby properties. Many of the lots along Lombardi Avenue were never full last season. [Editor's Note: The guy asking the question was NOT happy. I was shaking my head because Harlan was right; there were many places to park nearby. Some people just have to be parked at the front door or else they're lost if they get off of Lombardi Avenue I guess.

Q: Why don't the opposing teams stay in a hotel in Green Bay? (I think it had to due with being able to generate some revenue for Brown County).

A: Because the hotels are always booked! I have travel planners for teams ask me to call them when the schedule is released. I'll call them that day but you Packer fans always have everything booked up by the time these people call!

Q: Gold Ticket Season Ticket Holder described how he was not happy when the Packers left Milwaukee and they took a game away from the Gold package and gave it to the Green. Why didn't we split the games even, 5 and 5? (Applause)

A: I wouldn't leave the building alive if I did that! (laughter). When we announced the move, many Green Bay folks thought they were going to get all 10 games (applause). I had many people call and write saying they had tickets for 40 years and it wasn't right that strangers would be sitting in their seats at Lambeau Field. The 7-3 split was our compromise to both ticket packages. [Editor's Note: It's a crock of BS when people have to complain that "strangers" will be sitting in their seats. I'm sure the Packers have many headaches because of the split ticket packages. Even there at the meeting, you had applause for the Gold tickets and applause for the Green tickets, depending on whatever favored you. The Packers are screwed no matter what they do because it's not going to be fair to someone. I can understand the Gold ticket holders, they got the short end of the stick on that one.

The guy who asked this question happened to be right where I was sitting so I waved him over when he was done. I told him that he could go to the Ticket Office and get the Green Ticket package if he was willing to accept SINGLE seat tickets. They would let him have more than one ticket and he should ask for CLOSEST seats together. The guy was so worked up from being in front of the microphone and crowd that he wasn't comprehending what I was telling him. He tried to explain about the Waiting List, but no, you don't have to be on the Waiting List to get singles. He said he was going to the Ticket Office on some other business so I hope he got the information he needed about this opportunity. He didn't believe it and was too wrung out from his public speaking endeavor.

Also, every year brings up this Gold Ticket "shaft" and Harlan always gives the same answer.]

Q: ??? I missed this one because I was talking to the guy in the previous question. Too bad too, I missed a good one, Harlan got a lot of applause and I don't know why.

Q: Some kind of question concerning the Hall of Fame. Some people don't speak up and are hard to hear.

A: It will be in the renovated stadium.

Q: How many more years for Brett Favre?

A: (Sherman) Could be any time and we need to prepare for that.

Q: Will "Section C" parking be available after the construction? [Editor's Note: You need a special pass for here, I don't use it and therefore don't know what the advantage is for it other than it's next to the stadium).

A: It will return when construction is complete.

Q: Can't our ranking to other teams in terms of revenue be deceiving? Could SHerman be keeping players off the field due to a complex offense?

A: Underwood said it can be deceiving, we're the only publicly held team so we really don't know the revenue situation for other teams. Sherman gave a generic answer to the question, so generic that I forgot what he said. The guy asking the question rambled quite a bit so who knows what he was really asking.

Q: What's the status for purchasing personalized bricks? Why didn't the Packers sell any of the green sheet metal from the sides of Lambeau Field?

A: [Edito's note: The bricks are a money making venue; pay a fee to have your name on a brick where it becomes a part of a facility.] Yes, we will be having bricks. We had to move too quickly to deal with the green sheet metal.

Q: I was disappointed that there was no "moment of silence" for Dick Schaap when he died. Can people have their ashes spread on Lambeau Field? Will Leroy Butler have his jersey retired?

A: We did honor Schaap at the Hall of Fame banquet. We get a lot of requests for ashes being put on Lambeau Field, it'd probably help the grass grow (laughter). It's up to Sherman if Butler's jersey is retired. [Editor's Note: I'm sure there are many requests for ashes to be spread over Lambeau and I;ve wondered what their policy if for this. (Yours truly has no desire to do this himself). But, Harlan seemed to avoid the question. Dang! I wanted to know the answer.]

Q: Speaker praised Harlan. [Editor's Note: Some people really know how to waste time.]

Harlan adjourns the meeting. It ran late this year so Q&A was cut off, which was somewhat of a disappointment, good stuff comes out of the questions.

After the meeting I went up to Mark Wagner, the Director of the Ticket Office, and suggested to him that they provide a checkbox on the invoices for playoff tickets. It sucks having Gold tickets and being turned down for the playoffs yet the Ticket Office will have singles for sale, if you can get them. He thought it was a good idea.

I then wander around the stadium, wishing I could be inside. I'm dying to get a perspective of my new seats and see all the new changes up close and personal.

Last thing I do is stop at Skip's Place, a little greasy spoon nearby but it was a favorite hangout for Ray Nitschke and they retired his counter stool as a tribute to Ray. I have a chocolate malt and then head on back home. It was a beautiful, sunny day, the kind of day they should put a patent out for.

There's just no place like Green Bay for football, or, a stockholder meeting.