Honeymoon bliss: Watching the Boilers

FORT WAYNE – Ken and Rosi Bleeke honeymooned in Hawaii 39 years ago. It was October 1975. They haven’t been back since, but they’ll return to the island this week to cheer on their beloved Purdue Boilermakers – with a hundred friends clad in black and gold Hawaiian shirts.

The John Purdue Club sold 100 travel packages that include accommodations, game tickets, ground transportation and other activities on the island of Maui. Purdue will play three games in the Maui Invitational, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Monday against Kansas State.

When the Bleekes heard the Boilers were venturing to Hawaii, they knew they’d be celebrating their 40th anniversary a year early.

“When the material came out, we were right up there in the front to get our reservations in,” Rosi said. “With last year’s winter, we wanted to take advantage of the warm weather.”

The Bleekes – Hoagland natives – are Purdue football and men’s basketball season ticket holders. Their connection to the university began in 1970 when Ken became a frequent lecturer in the agriculture economics department. Ken, who also coached junior high basketball, eventually befriended Gene Keady.

“I always helped out at Keady’s coaching clinics,” he said. “There was a time when we had a beer at night with coach Keady. I went to that every year and really enjoyed it, and I used some coaching tips. Those are fond memories. It was fun getting to know Gene. He always had great stories.”

Northeast Indiana is inundated with Purdue supporters. There are 42,037 alumni and friends of Purdue in the northeast Indiana alumni club area, 27,608 reside in greater Fort Wayne, which includes all of Allen County. Nearly 1,100 are members of the Purdue Alumni Association.

The John Purdue Club has about 7,700 members, with 543 residing in Allen County.

“Fort Wayne is one of the top five areas where we have a concentration of Purdue alumni,” said Ben Paolillo, senior director of alumni clubs at the Purdue Alumni Association. “It is a place of great importance to the alumni association.

“We have a very strong alumni club in Fort Wayne. Because of the status it has earned through our recognition program (Gold), we provide them with $4,700 in programming funds and $1,000 of scholarship money.”

For the Bleekes, it may not be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

But many of the travelers, which include four other area families, have not set foot in Hawaii, which is considered to be one of the top vacation destinations in the world.

Along with staying at the picturesque Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa on Kaanapali Beach, visitors will also receive a traditional Hawaiian lei greeting at the airport, a tour gift and Thanksgiving meal on Thursday.

The entire week is filled with festivities. The Bleekes said a side trip to the island of Oahu to see Pearl Harbor is enticing. If not, they also have events with the participating teams and coaches.

A banquet is held today to kick off the Maui Invitational, complete with comments from Purdue coach Matt Painter and the basketball team.

“We also want to take evening cruises to watch the sunset,” Rosi said.

In between, there will be three basketball games, where success isn’t limited to the court. The island of Maui and city of Lahaina also experience victory – in the form of green paper.

The 2013 Maui Invitational attracted nearly 5,000 visitors, boosting the local economy by an estimated $12.7 million, according to the Maui Visitors Bureau.

In the 30-year history of the event, almost $180 million in visitor spending has been generated for Maui County.

Hotels, restaurants and recreational activities and small businesses all feel an impact. Planning for the next year’s event begins the week after the previous year’s championship game.

“It’s a big deal. It’s a huge deal,” said Terryl Vencl, executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau. “This provides a way for fans to justify a trip to Maui, which is a place most people want to go, and they get to cheer on their team.”

krowland@jg.net