On April 13, Wawa and its associates celebrated the life of famed Phillies announcer, Harry Kalas, who passed away one year ago.
The event took place during one of Wawa’s Snappy Hours-associate appreciation events that occur throughout the year.
As part of the celebration Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher, Jamie Moyer and Kalas family members joined Wawa executives and associates for a baseball themed picnic in Kalas’s honor at Wawa’s corporate headquarters.
During the celebration, Wawa presented a $15,000 check to Jamie Moyer and Kalas family member, Julie Vanwey, to be donated to the Moyer Foundation’s Camp Erin, a charity designated by the Kalas family.
Camp Erin, created and funded by The Moyer Foundation, is a bereavement camp in the country for children and teens ages 6-17 who have experienced the death of someone close to them. There are 36 camps in 23 states, including Camp Erin-Philadelphia.
In June of last year, Wawa began exclusively selling a book honoring the life of Kalas, entitled Remembering Harry Kalas: Wonderful Stories from Friends Celebrating a Great Life. The book marked the first commemorative, hard-back book Wawa has sold in stores.
To honor Kalas’s memory, Wawa donated $10,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the book to Camp Erin and made an additional donation of $5,000 to the Moyer Foundation to use in conjunction with Camp Erin.
“We were honored to exclusively sell this tribute to Harry Kalas, a man who we not only all admired and adored, but who was a loyal customer and friend to Wawa for many years,” said Howard Stoeckel, Wawa’s president and CEO. “His memory and legacy will always live on inside of our stores as well as in the hearts of all who knew and listened to him, and we feel privileged to be able to help share his memory with the greater Philadelphia community.”
Snappy Hour Agenda
Wawa’s tribute to Kalas included hot dogs, Cracker Jacks, apple pie, inflatable batting cages, available picnic tables and music. A podium and mic were set up with a large print of the book cover featuring Harry’s photo as a backdrop.
“Like baseball, Wawa is a company with a rich history and many great traditions. One of our traditions and corporate values is being a good neighbor and giving back to the communities we serve,” said Stoeckel. “Wawa salutes the Phillies and the Kalas family.” He added, “We’ve been committed to our hometown region here in Philadelphia for more than 45 years and we are honored to have played a role in celebrating the life and memory of hometown hero Harry Kalas.”
