Vaccination Station

Thanks to the generous grant provided to the NFL Alumni Association – Tampa Bay Chapter by the Center for Disease Control, we, with the help of MCR Health (thank you, Patrick Carnegie – CEO & President of MCR Health) and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (thank you, Diane Cortes – President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,) were able to set up a vaccination clinic at Ana G. Mendez University on Friday September 17, 2021. The grant enabled our chapter to have vaccines available for up to 1,000 people in the Tampa Bay area! Better yet, because our Vaccination Station was such a huge success, we will be setting up another event in time for individuals to get their second dose with us (more details to come!)

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/vaccine-event-tampa-bay-bucs-alumni/67-ef554f06-822d-4a71-aad7-fe59007ec0c4

Some of you early birds may have heard of our vaccination event on the 6:30am news when 10 Tampa Bay interviewed our president, Walter Carter. We all know Walter loves to talk about how much the Tampa Community means and how great being a part of the NFL Alumni Association is, but getting him to do it at 6:30am wasn’t as easy as getting the vaccine itself. Luckily, with the help of Marcos Rivera, President of Hyper Tampa Bay, and our Event Coordinator, Nora Lee Smith, Walter was our early bird who got the worm and the word out to the community in time for the big event.

What made this event such a huge success? The support of our fellow NFL Alumni members, state and local elected officials, business executives, nurses, and community members alike! Most notably, Florida Democratic Senator Janet Cruz and Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy C. Millan stopped by to show their support of our efforts to keep our community safe and healthy. We also had Elizabeth Reedy Foley, who is the CEO of Frameworks, come by and have a photo-op with our very own alumni, Michael Butler – a former Defensive End for the Green Bay Packers.

Michael Butler wasn’t the only Michael with a photo-op; Michael Clayton, who was a Wide Receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, took the time to take pictures and sign autographs for fans. Kamerion Wimbley, former Linebacker and Defensive End, was also there for the set-up, take-down, photo-ops, and autographs. Kamerion is a highly valued board member of the NFL Alumni Association – Tampa Bay Chapter. He always carves out time from his busy schedule to care for the kids, our own, and our community.

The most surprising debut of them all was that of the Corona Virus herself! Local Nurse Practitioner, Sandra Kreul, dressed up in her Halloween costume a little early just for our event! It’s nurses like Sandra, Dr. Monica Rider, and all of those from MCR Health who put themselves on the frontline daily who make our community safer, happier, and healthier! Thank you, health care workers!