Honorary chairs

General Page Media
Photo of Martin Nance and Meka Morris

 

Co-Chairs:  
Martin Nance, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Minnesota Vikings 
Meka Morris, Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer, Minnesota Twins Baseball Club

 

Go, Team WineFest!

We hope the headline above is a clue that everyone associated with WineFest - A Toast to Children’s Health is suiting up and ready to play their best. As executives at the Minnesota Twins (Meka) and the Minnesota Vikings (Martin), we’d like to start with a spirited shout: We’re gonna win! Skol!

Welcome to WineFest No. 27 — on behalf of M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital, the Department of Pediatrics, and the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Both of us moved to the Twin Cities in 2020 to take on leadership roles with Minnesota’s favorite home teams. That’s how we first got to know one another. The second way was by attending WineFest. Both of us were impressed, not only by this noble cause, but by the team of people championing this effort and the children receiving the best of care at Masonic Children’s Hospital. We knew instantly that we wanted to be part of this.

Since then, we’ve both joined the M Health Fairview Philanthropic Board, piggybacking on the longtime efforts of our teams, but also signing on out of our personal desire to give back. As a parent [Martin has two daughters and Meka is expecting her first child this summer], you just want your kids to be happy and healthy. So to see families dealing with significant health challenges is moving — you want to help. We’re also honored to serve as WineFest co-chairs in a community that has welcomed us and inspired us by its giving spirit.

Additionally, we know that as Black executives, we stand out in the rooms we sit in. We view that as a strength and we lean into that. Our approach to WineFest is no different. We’re bringing our full selves to this worthy cause and aiming to take No. 27 all the way! You may see more athletes who you recognize tonight, you may hear a few more names that ring a bell, and you may find yourself bidding on auction lots that come along once in a lifetime. That’s on purpose. Our WineFest team plans to win big this year — with creativity, energy and style. What can we say? We’re competitive.

It’s natural for us to lean into the idea of team. But it truly does take a team to save the life of a child. It takes the patient’s family, putting their trust in M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital. It takes physician-scientists who offer kind hearts and thoughtful words at patients’ bedsides plus life-saving treatments, often developed right here at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Pediatrics. It takes numerous nurses who provide round-the-clock care. It takes care managers, pharmacists, physical therapists, Child Life specialists, and countless others. And it takes all of us here tonight — the honorary winemasters, the generous sponsors, the big-hearted auction donors - and bidders, and every single guest. It takes all of us — we’re all pulling toward this huge, important goal. And that’s more important than any sporting event.

Please give generously. Every dollar supports children’s health — treatments, technologies, even cures. Our gifts will change lives and outcomes for children here in Minnesota and around the world.

We’re all in this together — let’s go!

Cheers!


For more information, please contact
Brittany Minke.

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