I AM UAA: Tom & Vicki Packer

UAA Donors (College of Fellows), UAA Rebounders Booster Club
Hometown: Anchorage, AK
Fun Fact: They've traveled to many games Outside to cheer on
UAA's basketball teams

If you've been to a UAA athletic event, chances are you've seen Tom and Vicki Packer in the stands, decked out in their green and gold attire, enthusiastically cheering for the Seawolves.

Tom, originally from Ohio, and Vicki, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, started their lives together in Kotzebue in the early '60s. Tom was visiting his sister when he met Vicki, a nurse for the Alaska Native Service/Public Health Service. The couple hit it off and spent the next several years living and working in Bush communities and in Fairbanks before a job transfer brought them to Anchorage in 1975.

Always a sports fanatic, Tom didn't waste any time getting involved with the UAA sports scene after arriving in Anchorage. Tom and Vicki started coming to games in the early '80s and have enjoyed watching basketball, hockey, volleyball and gymnastics over the years. "We're particularly passionate about basketball," Vicki said.

Green and gold to the core, Tom and Vicki consider themselves among the Seawolves' biggest fans. They have traveled far and wide to watch the men's and women's basketball teams in action, from Annapolis to San Antonio and most places in between.

Some of their best memories from the road include watching the women's team compete in the 2009 NCAA Elite Eight in San Antonio, cheering on the men at the 2008 Elite Eight in Massachusetts, and following both basketball teams to Disneyland for the West Coast Tip-Off Classic last fall.

"We've been everywhere with the teams but Billings," Tom said. "This year, we want to go to Billings."

Tom is a member-at-large of the Seawolf Athletic Advisory Committee and is former president of the UAA Rebounders Booster Club. He has also served as chairman of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, a role he proudly held for the 2006 tournament.

Tom, Senior Vice President of Investments for Wedbush Securities, and Vicki, a retired nurse, have made it a priority to give back to the program that has been a part of their lives for many years. When the Seawolf Legacy scholarship endowment was established in 2005, Tom and Vicki were the first to step up with a $50,000 gift to help get the endowment off the ground.

A long-term investment, the Seawolf Legacy is a fiscally prudent way for the community to show support for UAA and help student-athletes achieve excellence, both in their sport and in the classroom. Tom and Vicki continue to contribute to the Seawolf Legacy at a leadership level and intend to keep doing so for years to come.

"The UAA Athletics program is a good program," said Tom. "It starts at the top-Dr. Cobb [UAA Director of Athletics] is an excellent leader, the coaches are outstanding, and that really reflects well on our student-athletes." Vicki added that people from competing schools often comment on the caliber of Seawolf student-athletes, saying they're very well mannered-both on the court and off-and are overall good sportsmen and women.

Besides supporting the program financially, Tom has also been active in helping UAA's administration gain traction on the new UAA sports arena. He's volunteered his time to speak to state lawmakers and traveled to Juneau in 2010 to advocate for the arena.

When they're not howling for the home team, Tom and Vicki volunteer at Bean's Café and are active in their church community. They have three children and three grandchildren, all of whom live in the Anchorage area.

Learn more about the Seawolf Legacy at www.GoSeawolves.com.