‘Very healthy’ Country Roads Trust planning more events after smashingly successful Leadoff Dinner

With the release of the WVU football schedule – and the thought that clocks go back to giving us more daylight in 39 days – we had a little breath of fresh air on Tuesday.

Of course, we’re going to ignore the fact that we’re ready to plunge into February and just be positive, at least for this day.

And if you’re a Mountaineer fan, there’s another reason for optimism and hope: the continued success of Country Roads Trust, WVU’s Name, Image and Likeness leader. If you follow them on Facebook or X, you’ll know they’re coming off a huge event at Mylan Park last weekend: the Leadoff Dinner for the WVU baseball program.

There were signed items, trips, etc., for an auction. There was an appearance by singer Charles Wesley Godwin. A crowd of 800 attended. And Country Roads Trust GM and COO Stephen Ford had one word for it:

“Awesome,” he said on Tuesday.

Ford said it went so well he thinks his staff – Taylor Haguewood, Madison Hutson, Grant Dovey, Chase Harler and Amanda Mazey – are “probably annoyed I’ve thanked them so much. It was all them. They did a first-class job.”

It went so well that other such fundraising events are in the offing.

“We’re going to host a football fantasy camp for the older donors – men and women – in April,” Ford said. “And with the success of the baseball event, we’d be crazy to not do so for football and basketball. We’ve already had talks.”

The point of this blog, though (and this is REALLY burying the lead), is to point out how creative Country Roads Trust has to be and, voila!, how creative the collective’s team actually has been.

We at Wheelhouse Creative LLC have been with Country Roads Trust from the beginning and I can’t tell you how impressed I’ve been with their team, sculpting such a successful venture from something (NIL) without much guidance. Co-founders Oliver Luck and Ken Kendrick insisted the team follow what guidelines were in place.

But many of the opportunities for the Mountaineer athletes have been forged through sheer will and creativity.

The Country Roads Trust staff has appealed to donors personally and through membership levels. All of the latter had to be imagined and put in place. There is the big hit that’s Country Roads Trust Lager. There’s the 1863 WV Gold Bourbon. There was the Million Dollar May fundraiser. That’s aside from the camps, appearances and sponsorships to help fuel WVU athletics.

Heck of a job for a staff of six.

“Wow,” Ford said. “Between the bourbon and beer and this event… With us being in West Virginia, we have to be creative. We have to be creative on how to engage with the community and help our Mountaineer programs.”

Word is WVU athletic director Wren Baker was thrilled with the Leadoff Dinner for the baseball program. It was a classy, successful event.

“We’re doing so much,” Ford said. “Sponsorship deals – we’ve had 50 to 60 corporate partnerships — benefitting I can’t even guess, but it has to be in the thousands of athletes, creating opportunities.”

I think that’s something that’s lost in discussion of NILs. Few of these athletes are going to be making big money after college in the professional ranks. This gives them a head start on life after athletics.

“We’re able to give access to the athletes they’ve never had before,” Ford said. “We provide a service to sponsors and donors and athletes. The sponsors and donors aren’t out there chasing around kids. And we’re giving the athletes a platform to live a better life, to have a brand – and to teach them a little about business along the way.”

That’s the side many that criticize NIL don’t consider.

Anyway, the Leadoff Dinner was a smashing success. More such events are in the offing. And Luck, Kendrick, Ford, staff and WVU’s programs and fans are seeing the fruits of their labors.

“We’re healthy,” Ford said of Country Roads Trust. “We’re really healthy. From a business and financial perspective, we’re extremely healthy but as time goes on the numbers and competition will continue to go up as well. We have to continue to push the needle.”

With their staff in place, I have no doubt they’ll successfully do so.

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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.