Weathervane Charity Events Help Make-A-Wish, Jimmy Fund

September is very a busy month for the folks at Weathervane Seafood Restaurants, just as it has been for the past quarter-century. That’s because every September the family-owned seafood company goes the extra mile to support its two favorite charities — Make-A-Wish and the Jimmy Fund.

The 25th Annual Weathervane Seafoods Charity Golf Tournament — held Tuesday, Sept. 13, at The Oaks in Somersworth — once again raised thousands of dollars for Make-A-Wish Maine and Make-A-Wish NH. After hosting the event for so many years, Weathervane estimates it has raised more than $130,000 for Make-A-Wish.

Just 12 days later, Weathervane volunteers mobilized to serve 5,000 cups of clam chowder to people crossing the finish line at the annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, which set a 2016 goal of raising $8.3 million for compassionate patient care and innovative cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how 18 holes of golf and 5,000 cups of chowder can make a big difference in the lives of people in need.

Weathervane Golf Tournament Supports Make-A-Wish

The 25th Annual Weathervane Seafoods Charity Golf Tournament was a day of fun and fundraising for the 128 golfers who teed up at The Oaks in Somersworth on Tuesday, Sept. 13 — hitting the links with friends and business acquaintances to help make some dreams come true.

The 2015 event raised over $15,000 thanks to the generosity of participating golfers and vendors, a total that included sales of raffle tickets, mulligans and putting strings, as well as chances in the 50/50 putting contest.

The winning foursome consisted of Sean Melton (Weathervane), Rob Geddes (Weathervane), Sean Ryan (Native Maine) and Chip Fortier (Native Maine). Many golfers took home raffle prizes donated by vendors, Weathervane employees and friends.

But the biggest winners of the day were the Make-A-Wish foundation and the young people who benefit from its mission — granting the wishes of children who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.

Last year’s tournament helped fund the adventure of a lifetime for Derek, 17, an Exeter High School student who realized his dream of traveling to Florida to see the Daytona 500 and meeting NASCAR hero Dale Earnhardt Jr. According to his mom, the experience meant the world to Derek, who died of a brain tumor just eight weeks after his VIP trip to the iconic NASCAR event.

Derek’s trip provided “a much-needed escape for him and the whole family, and his smile in the photos was priceless,” said Weathervane Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Gagner. “I am so proud that Weathervane has supported Make-A-Wish for all these years and look forward to supporting them in the future so they can continue to grant wishes like his.”

Weathervane reported that one key to the fundraising effort was the generosity of the event’s vendors and sponsors. RF Hunter had 12 golfers participate and three volunteers to help with raffle sales, the putting contest and sponsoring a hole.

Additional sponsors include: Eastern Propane, Sysco NNE, F.W. Bryce, Geiger, Atlantic Fisheries, EcoLab, Blount, MMEMIC, BlendPak, Nathan Weschler & Co., McCain, E&J Gallo, Native Maine, Ispwich Shellfish, Westminster Bakers, Coca-Cola, Granite Steak & Grill, Hanover Insurance, New England Coffee, P. Gagnon and Son, Dowling Corp., Waste Management, Sidehill Farm, Miller-Coors, Matchbook Wines, Kittery Trading Post and TriMark.

5,000 Cups of Chowder for the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk

Serving up 5,000 cups of clam chowder is a tall order, but it’s one that Weathervane Seafood Restaurants was happy to fill once again this year — at the annual Jimmy Fund Walk held Sunday, Sept. 25, along the course of the Boston Marathon.

For over 25 years, Weathervane has been right there at the finish line serving fresh chowder to the participants, some walking up to a full marathon (26.2 miles) or half-marathon and others hitting the pavement for a 10K or 5K excursion.

Of course, the Jimmy Fund’s Marathon Walk requires a marathon chowder-making session. The chowder is then packaged in boilable bags to make the trip from Kittery, Maine, to Boston. Transporting 5,000 servings of chowder across state lines is no small undertaking and fortunately the good people at Sysco helped by providing a refrigerated truck and driver to deliver the chowder (also known as “chowdah”) to Copley Square.

At the finish line, servers used eight propane burners and 100-quart pots to make sure that each creamy cup was piping hot and brimming with clams.

Weathervane Seafood Restaurants is well known for its community involvement, so it’s not surprising to see volunteers from all levels of the company pitching in to lend a hand. Chief Financial Officer Bill Kurkul, Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Gagner, Marketing Manager Meg Cloud, District Manager Rob Geddes, General Manager Scott Trafton and countless other volunteers helped make the day a success.

“It’s a lot of fun and a great way to give back by doing something that we do best — serving great chowder!” said Jeremy, whose grandparents Ray and Bea Gagner founded Weathervane Seafood Restaurants from a small Kittery seafood shack back in 1969.

The Weathervane family’s connection to the Jimmy Fund Walk is long, strong and also heartfelt (founders Ray and Bea Gagner both died of complications from cancer). In fact, since they served their first lobsters and chowder nearly a half-century ago, giving back to the community has been an important part of the Gagner family tradition at Weathervane Seafood Restaurants.

This brief video helps tell the story of how the business grew into a traditional New England favorite proud of its long legacy of serving up fresh seafood, and fond memories, to generations of hungry families.