FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACTS: Lauren Murley / Lindsay Ressler M. Silver Associates 954-765-3636 [email protected] / [email protected] Leah Jackson Starkey Hearing Foundation 310-691-1411 [email protected] STARKEY HEARING FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH MINNESOTA VIKINGS AND ADRIAN PETERSON’S ALL DAY FOUNDATION FOR THE 2ND ANNUAL BLIZZARD BLITZ FAMILY ICE FISHING CONTEST Star-Studded Event Will Bring Together Celebrities From The Sports and Entertainment Industries to Raise Funds; Local Children Receive The Gift of Hearing MINNEAPOLIS (December 5, 2011) – Starkey Hearing Foundation, which strives to change the social consciousness of hearing and hearing health care, will hold its 2nd Annual Blizzard Blitz For Better Hearing on Monday, January 16, 2012. In partnership with the Minnesota Vikings and Adrian Peterson’s All Day Foundation, the event will take place at Lola’s Lakehouse on Lake Waconia from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. with a preevent press briefing scheduled for 11:30 a.m. At the 2012 Blizzard Blitz event, the Foundation will also hold a hearing mission to deliver the gift of hearing to under-served, hearing-impaired children and adults from the Waconia area. Guests will gather for a day of fun-filled family and children activities, including free rod and reel building, ice safety, fish identification, and high tech fishing gadget tutorials; ice fishing Olympics; as well as a star-studded ice fishing tournament – all while raising funds that will help give children around the world the gift of hearing. In conjunction with the activities, the Polaris Youth Experience Center will be showcasing snowmobiles for children to enjoy. During the hearing mission inside Lola’s Lakehouse, the Foundation team of audiologists and staff will fit each of the recipients, who range in age from three to 77 with their own custommade, digital hearing device. “Last year more than 1,000 people came out to Lake Waconia to join us at our very first Blizzard Blitz For Better Hearing event,” said Brady Forseth, Director, Starkey Hearing Foundation. “It was such a great success and we received an overwhelmingly positive welcome from so many people that we decided to hold a hearing mission in conjunction with the 2012 event for all the individuals who depend on us for the gift of hearing.” At the 2012 Blizzard Blitz, Starkey Hearing Foundation and Adrian Peterson will welcome celebrity friends including Chris Smith, Former NFL Washington Redskin; Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota Viking; Kyle Massey, Disney Actor; Chris Massey, Nickelodeon Actor; Shjon Podein, NHL Stanley Cup Champion; Mike Pomeranz, KARE11 TV/FOX Sports; Congressman Erik Paulsen; Senator David Hann; Senator Juliann Ortman; Senator Norm Coleman; Representative Joe Hoppe; Representative Ernie Leidiger; Waconia Mayor Jim Nash; and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek. Guests who register for the 2012 Blizzard Blitz online before January 14, will save $5. Preregistration costs $15 for children (age 15 and under) and $25 for adults (age 16 and older). For those guests who choose to register at the event, the cost for registration is $20 for children and $30 for adults. For those interested in being a spectator during the fishing tournament, children pay $5 and adults pay $10. Special thanks to the sponsors who made this event possible: The Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson’s All Day Foundation, Lola’s Lakehouse, KFAN Sports Radio, Joyce White, Roy B. Simpson and the Resource Foundation, JNBA Financial Advisors, Ice Castle Fish Houses, Polaris, Hoopla, Clam Outdoors, Ice Armor, Ridgeview Medical Center, James P. Sterba, Gamin Ride, Mase’s In Towne Marina, Simply Outdoor Experiences and Thor and Pauline Olsen. For more information on Starkey Hearing Foundation’s 2nd Annual Blizzard Blitz For Better Hearing and to register online, please visit https://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/blizzardblitz-registration.php. About Starkey Hearing Foundation Starkey Hearing Foundation is striving to foster greater understanding among individuals and communities through hearing care by focusing on awareness, education, protection and treatment so the world may hear. Hearing loss affects one in 10 Americans, and 63 million children worldwide, yet many do not have access to the hearing devices that can help them. From 2000 to 2010, Starkey Hearing Foundation fit more than 500,000 hearing aids to people in need in the U.S. and around the world. The Foundation has grown that commitment to more than 100,000 hearing aids annually and is dedicated to fitting 1 million hearing aids this decade. In addition to giving the gift of hearing through worldwide hearing missions, Starkey Hearing Foundation promotes hearing health awareness through the Listen Carefully initiative and provides hearing instruments to low-income Americans through the Hear Now program. For more information on Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org. ###