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Patrick “Packy” Mader is excited to visit the Mankato Rotary Club to present Minnesota’s rich sports history at the Olympics. His books, Minnesota Gold and More Minnesota Gold, highlight the stories, lives, challenges, perseverance, and achievements of more than 100 remarkable living Minnesota athletes who competed at the international level–including people from a cross section of sports from 1948 – present.

Packy will be highlighting Olympians/Paralympians with connections to Mankato and southern Minnesota as he shares the positive experience throughout his research, interviews, writing, and editing in an engaging and entertaining style. Area athletes featured include wheelchair basketball Paralympian Rose Hollermann from Elysian; sitting volleyball Paralympian Lexi Shifflett of Waseca who was discovered by a coach when she was competing in a tournament in Mankato; two-time gold medalist and current University of Minnesota head women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen; and hockey legends Henry Boucha, Tim Sheehy, John Mayasich, and 1980 Miracle on Ice hockey team member and current Minnesota State University women’s hockey coach, John Harrington. The Olympians were approachable, intelligent, articulate, and modest–demonstrating Olympian character and qualities.

Come discover Minnesota Gold!

Rose Hollermann of Elysian is a star on the US Paralympic wheelchair basketball team; Lexi Shifflett of Waseca has been a member of the national US sitting volleyball team for 5 years; Henry Boucha (holding Packy’s book) of Warroad is one of several hockey legends profiled in Packy’s books.