Gone fishin’
…for bass with Merril Hoge!
Ben and Merril released every fish they caught, and stopped counting after they caught 50 (at least that’s their story!).
Where’d they fish? It’s a secret….any good fisherman will tell you that you never divulge the location of your best fishing spots!
Ben’s friends Nick Sampson and Lonnie Price were “on location” as well, but were also sworn to secrecy as to the location.
Nick is a producer, and Lonnie is a photographer – their most recent work can be seen on the popular hunting show “Primal Instinct” on Versus TV. As you may recall, Ben was a guest hunter on the show last year, and the group got together for a goose hunt recently in Hershey, PA.
Nick also produced Ben’s Youth Football Camp videos last summer which you can watch on the Community page!
You can see more photos from their fishing trip here.
You can check out Nick’s website, Quest for the Continent productions here.
You can keep up with Nick (and check out more photos) on Facebook here.
Also Today:
A dalmation named “Ember” writes Ben’s Foundation a letter, complete with her paw print signature!
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Tom Yerace:
Jessica Duffaut reads a lot of letters requesting grants from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for police, fire and other service canines, but none like the one from a Tarentum fire company.
Duffaut works for California-based The Giving Back Fund which is the administrator for the Roethlisberger Foundation.
The letter in question came from Ember, a Dalmatian who keeps watch on the Eureka Fire Rescue station on Third Avenue — with a little help from her friends, firefighter/paramedics Shannon McKruit and Susan Clark.
“This is my third year of reading applications for the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation and theirs was far and away the most creative I’ve read,” said Duffaut. “It was a treat to read.”
“I think just the whole perspective was refreshing,” she said. “It did take me a second to realize that Ember was the dog.”
It was creative enough to easily win over the screening committee and land a $1,000 grant to help feed and care for Ember.
“I just thought it would be more creative coming from her than coming from us,” McKruit said.
You can read […]
Happy Birthday Ben!!
CONTEST UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to Shelby Morris from Salisbury, MD. She was our 302nd emailer!
Today is Ben’s 30th birthday and one lucky fan will receive a gift from him!
To celebrate…
The 302nd emailer (3/02 – today’s date) will receive an autographed game-used black and white Nike cleat from Ben that was worn late in the 2011 season! It’s that easy! No quiz to take, no caption to think up, no questions to answer…just be the right emailer!
However, before you email, please follow these two rules:
1. Emails for the contest WILL NOT be accepted until 12 NOON ET and after (this gives fans in different time zones a chance to participate).
2. Please, just one email per email address only (subsequent emails from the same address will be discounted).
Send emails to: bigben7website@gmail.com
*Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest, and those that sent birthday wishes!
And….
Just a few of the many Birthday Wishes received today for #7:
“Good morning Mr. Roethlisberger, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday and thank you for all that you do for Steeler Nation. I’m a huge fan and love to watch you play every day I can in San Diego. I hope that you have a blessed day today. Steelers forever.” — T.J. Goodman, 2ndLt USMC
“Happy Birthday Big Ben!! I will always love you…lol” — Tiffany Mike
“Ben, Happy Birthday! Hope you have a relaxing birthday, Enjoy. One of your biggest Fans!” — Kathie Haber
“I’ve known Ben since 5th grade, he’s always been a competitor and a winner. Happy Birthday man!” — Rich Slack
“May you enjoy many more….and many more years as the Steelers’ #1 QB!”— Vicki Rizzo, St. Charles, MO
“HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY BEN!!!!! Hope you have a AMAZING day.” — Christi Githens
“Happy 30th, my wife and I just turned 30 this year and we are huge Steeler fans. Wishing you the best!” — Cheers, Jacob Court
“Have a great birthday Ben! 30’s are much better than 20’s. The wisdom is with worth all the gray hair that shows up.” — The Czech Family
“Roethlisberger goes long to help police, fire departments”
From Fire Engineering Magazine today:
Bullet-proof vests and a bomb-sniffing dog will be coming to Westmoreland County this year with the help of a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.
The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation’s Giving Back Fund has awarded $4,000 to the Greenburg Volunteer Fire Department and $5,000 to Westmoreland County Park Police, officials from both groups confirmed on Wednesday.
Greensburg will use the money to buy ballistic vests for handlers of its bloodhound team, Capt. Lou Battistella said.
The money will help with costs related to the park police department having its first explosive-sniffing dog, Chief Nick Caesar said.
“I want to thank Big Ben for his generosity, and we sincerely appreciate his interest in his community,” Battistella said.
“We’re very, very excited about it,” Caesar said. “It’s going to be the first (dog) in the county (department) and the receiving of this grant … is going to help us get started.”
You can read more from the magazine’s website here.
And:
From the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat:
Johnstown Police Department has received a $5,000 grant to support its K-9 corps.
The money comes from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.
City police Chief Craig Foust said the money is available for training or equipment but is expected to go into a fund for eventual replacement of aging police dogs.
“At least three of our dogs are approaching retirement age over the next couple years,” Foust said.
You can read more here.
You can read about other grants below (February 21st news).
*The photo above was taken from a video tribute to Ben and his Foundation. Ben poses with “Spike”, the K-9 that he purchased for the Findlay, Ohio police department after their other K-9 “Flip” was killed in 2006. The video is the work of Dan Harmon, Doug Marshall, and Brad and Bryon Deeter.
Did you know?
That Ben’s foundation has been donating K-9 and search and rescue dogs to police and fire departments across the country since 2006?
Every city in which Ben plays football is eligible, so regardless of what team wins, the community where they play always comes out a winner.
The idea for the foundation came from Ben’s father, Ken. In 2006, a K-9 police dog […]
There’s still time…
…to purchase your tickets and make plans to attend!
Ben is scheduled to appear at the Collector’s Showcase of America‘s Chantilly Sports Show held at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA on April 1, 2012. Advanced ticket sales ends on Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
The three-day show (March 30-April 1) will feature autograph sessions with Ben and teammates Antonio Brown, Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Ryan Clark, Cameron Heyward, and Lawrence Timmons (all on Sunday); Jerome Bettis (Saturday), Rocky Bleier (Sunday); NFL HOF’ers Joe Greene (Sunday), Deion Sanders and Joe Schmidt (both on Saturday); seven-time Pro Bowler Jason Witten (Saturday); Miles Austin (Saturday); Matthew Stafford (Sunday); Sam Bradford (Sunday); NBA Top 50 players Bob Cousy (Saturday) & Dolph Schayes (Saturday); and MLB Rookies of the Year Wally Moon (Sunday) & Albie Pearson (Sunday).
More athletes will be added to the weekend in the coming months.
Before and after getting your item(s) signed, you can wander through the Show’s many sports dealers booths.
Please check out their website to read about pricing for autograph tickets and to purchase yours online!
The Dulles Expo Center is located in Fairfax County, VA. For a map and directions, click here. For a list of hotels in the area, click here.
Ben’s appearance courtesy of the Sports Emporium, Gamebreaker Sports, and The Jersey Source.
Foundation: Ben announces final grants for the 2011-2012 season
Today, Ben announced the final grants of the 2011-12 season from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund. The Foundation will be distributing nine grants totaling $52,400 to police and fire departments in the Pittsburgh, PA area.
The K-9 Departments receiving funding from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation this year are Borough of Aspinwall PD; Butler County Sheriff’s Office; City of Aliquippa Police Department; Eureka Hose Company; Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department; Johnstown Police Department; Masontown Police Department; Penn Hills Police Department; and the Westmoreland County Park Police.
Funds will be used to cover canine purchases, training, safety and training equipment, food and other necessary expenses of the K-9 units.
Mike Manko, Communications Director at Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, said, “In keeping with a commitment to canine programs that Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala made when he first took office, the office is pleased to partner with Ben Roethlisberger and The Giving Back Fund by donating $15,000 this year to assist the grant program in funding a number of canine units in Allegheny County.”
This announcement completes the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation’s fifth grant cycle, during which it distributed more than $130,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country.
In addition to the Pittsburgh grants announced, the Foundation distributed grants to police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers in the 2011-12 season. The Foundation invited police and fire departments in the eight cities to submit proposals detailing their needs.
The 2011-12 NFL season also marked the first grant cycle that allowed non-NFL market cities to apply with grants to be awarded for every Steeler playoff game.
Since 2007, Ben’s Foundation has made 98 grants totaling almost $850,000 to 94 police and fire departments and four community youth organizations, including Ronald McDonald House Charities. These 94 canine grants have funded the purchase of more than 55 dogs, the training of more than 25 dogs and 50 handlers, safety equipment for more than of 45 dogs and training equipment for more than 25 dogs as well as food, vet services and housing for countless more.
The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is grateful for its generous supporters who have enabled it to expand its K-9 grant program, including Pro […]
Huntin’ outside Hershey
Ben, his brother-in-law Brent Harlan, friends Nick Sampson and Tyler Hock, and the Primal Instinct crew went on a recent goose hunt just outside of Hershey, PA.
The group was hunting with Final Pass Outfitters.
Nick and Tyler are film producers whose most recent work can be seen on the popular hunting show “Primal Instinct” on Versus TV. Ben was a guest hunter last Spring on the show, which aired the episode on September 15th.
Nick also produced Ben’s Youth Football Camp videos last summer which you can watch on the Community page!
You can see more photos from the hunt here.
You can check out Nick’s website, Quest for the Continent productions here.
You can keep up with Nick (and check out more hunting photos) on Facebook here.