WPS Health Insurance, Green Bay Packers: Nicholas Popowski saluted Sunday for Operation Fan Mail

Media Contact:

Aaron Popkey

Green Bay Packers

920/569-7211

popkeya@packers.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. —The Green Bay Packers and WPS Health Insurance paid special tribute to U.S. Navy Boatswain Mate Nicholas Popowski of Columbus, Wis. during Sunday’s Packers-Falcons game for Operation Fan Mail.

Popowski, a lifelong Packers fan, has been serving in the Navy for 12 years as a boatswain mate (BM2), which is the oldest job in the Navy. As a BM2, Popowski mans the lookouts, responds to man overboard alarms, resupplies the ship with food, refuels and performs any other necessary tasks, including training new sailors assigned to the ship.

Popowski has been assigned to the USS McFaul (destroyer), NCHB -1 Navy cargo handling battalion, USS Enterprise (aircraft carrier) and the USS Carl Vinson (aircraft carrier) throughout his career, and has traveled to every continent in the world. When Popowski was attached to the NCHB-1, he traveled to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze as well as traveling on humanitarian trips to Senegal and Thailand. He also served eight months in Iraq with the battalion.

Operation Fan Mail, which debuted in 2007, is designed to recognize families with a member who is on active duty. The Packers and WPS Health Insurance will host a family at each 2013 home game and recognize them on the field during pregame activities. A total of 63 families have been recognized through the program.

To choose families, the Packers and WPS Health Insurance are asking interested families, or friends of eligible families, to submit an essay, 500 words or less, on why a particular fan should be saluted. Essays can be sent to: Operation Fan Mail, P.O. Box 10628, Green Bay, WI, 54307-0628. Essays also can be submitted to the Packers online at

http://nfl.packers.com/gameday/gameday_promotions/operation_fan_mail/.

Families intended for recognition are those that have a member serving on active duty. The family member can be a spouse, mother, father, son, daughter or sibling.

In addition to being recognized on-field prior to the game, selected families receive four tickets to the game and a care package from WPS.

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About WPS
Founded in 1946, WPS is Wisconsin’s leading not-for-profit health insurer, offering affordable individual health insurance, family health insurance, high-deductible health insurance, and short-term health plans, as well as flexible and affordable group plans and cost-effective benefit plan administration for businesses. The WPS Medicare division administers Part A and B benefits for millions of seniors in multiple states, and the WPS TRICARE division serves millions more members of the U.S. military and their families. In 2013, the international Ethisphere® Institute named WPS one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the fourth straight year. WPS is the only health insurance company to earn this distinction four times. For more information about WPS, visit www.wpsic.com.