Last week, the VFTB presented an idea that a local NFL team fan club threw around their meeting room, almost like tossing spaghetti at a wall to see if it would stick.

It was an idea about having a dinner which would include two former players, and one current player, from the Cleveland Browns, Dave Graf, George Lilja and Jamestown native, Stephen Carlson. At last look Graf and Lilja had accepted the invitation and the group was waiting to hear from Stephen.

Part II

Stephen couldn’t commit right away, as he needed to make sure the date didn’t conflict with his team or workout schedules, but after checking his schedule, he was excited to join us as well. Question one was now answered.

Next, what to serve on our budget. I know some gentlemen in the area who live for cooking spaghetti dinners for various groups to help them raise money, and as a monthly event for the Marco Polo Club in Jamestown too. I called two of them, Joe Conti, and Tony Conti (not related) and asked if they could cook for us on March 7. They agreed and question two was answered. Members of our Backers group volunteered to donate much of the food that we would need for the dinner. What food or beverage wasn’t donated, was paid for with money donated by some other members of our group, and if we had to pay anything after that, it would come from the ticket fee of $10 per person. Question two — check!

Question three was where? Well, one of our members belongs to a group that has a local hall, and dues paying members of his group can use the hall at no cost if it does not conflict with club business. Jack Knowlton made a call, reserved the hall for the date we wanted, and we crossed off question number three.

Question four was easy. How many tickets could we get rid of for the event? Since the hall had a capacity of 175, we set that as our goal. That included tickets to be sold, and to be made complimentary to a number of people we designated to be our guests for the event. After putting tickets up for sale and saving out the comp tickets, and saving out 10 tickets for any extra guests of the speakers who may come with them, we were left with 10 tickets not sold or given away.

The last question was taken care of by pricing the event at only $10 per person, and holding a social hour and autograph session before the dinner, having a double ticket type giveaway during the dinner where the entire intake was split equally and two prizes were given away, and we made sure the social time included the types of munchies John Miraglia made sure we had each Sunday during his presidency of the Backers of Jamestown.

So we got to meet, and hear stories from, three men who wore the Brown and Orange, and got autographs from them, and broke bread with them and, so many other great people. An added part of the evening was the honoring of the first ever Member of the Year Award given to one member of our Backers group, appropriately named the John Miragila Browns Backers of Jamestown, NY, Member of the Year Award. That award for the 2019 season went to Kim Touhey, who, before relocating here, was a Browns Backers President in Florida.

The Cleveland Browns are a big part of the history of the NFL. They’ve had many players find their way to Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and like the Backers of Jamestown Dinner, they’ve had a bit of local flavor sprinkled into that history. Our area also has many others who’ve made significant contributions in the NFL overall, as players, coaches, scouts, and, oh yeah, I recall an NFL commissioner having grown up in Jamestown, as well.

The Browns Backers of Jamestown, NY are proud to be a part of the Browns Organization in a small, but in our eyes, a significant way, and we thank the communities around us who help us do what we do. Hopefully, we can continue for many years to come, and maybe see you at next year’s dinner.