An Amazing Trip: Sports Collectibles Dick Pope ’58 grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota and had 12 people in his graduating class at Cleveland High School. Today he is chairman and CEO of the Winona-based WinCraft, a sports marketing company that specializes in licensing collectibles and has more than 500 full-time employees. Sports have certainly been good to Pope. Along the way he’s gone to Super Bowls, the World Series, Stanley Cups and the Olympics. “It’s been an amazing trip,” Pope says. In 2010, WinCraft acquired McArthur Towel & Sports, a company best known for its sports rally towels. The company’s a good fit for WinCraft, which licensed the Homer Hankies that Twins' fans waved during the 1987 and 1991 World Series. Pope has been a part of WinCraft since 1979, and he guided it through the sports boom. And he’ll keep leading it, serving basketball, baseball and football fans along the way. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” he says.
Dick Pope ’58 ’96 Helen & Chad Mountain ’96, girl, Clara, Aug. ’10 ’96 Elisa & Greg Seibert ’96, girl, Lucy, Apr. ’10 ’97 Bridget (Penfold ’97) & Chad Bahneman ’97, boy, Tommy, Apr. ’09 ’97 Michelle (Kelash ’02) & Michael Hemmesch ’97, boy, Alexander, Sept. ’10 ’97 Jane & Jerome Illg ’97, boy, Logan, May ’08 ’97 Stacy (Schmitz ’98) & Ben Jansky ’97, boy, Jake, Aug. ’10
’97 Amy & Jeff Sieben ’97, boy, Luke, Oct. ’09 ’97 Lisa & Ben Wannebo ’97, boy, Boden, May ’10 ’98 Corie (Dumdie ’97) & Marty Barry ’98, girl, Jackson, May ’10 ’98 Jill & Aaron Boatz ’98, girl, Grace, June ’10 ’98 Tracy (Lepper ’97) & Bryan Gilbert ’98, boy, Gunner, May ’10 ’98 Michelle (Frith ’98) & Joseph Heiland ‘98, boy, Jake, Jan. ’10 ’98 Eleanor (Mamer ’98) & Micah Kiel ’98, boy, Brendan, Oct. ’10
35
’98 Kelly (Kofstad ’00) & William Lavigne ’98, boy, Keaton, April ’10 ’98 Naomi (Nakada ’00) & Brian Lynch ’98, girl, Marika, June ’10 ’98 Meg (Kulenkamp ’00) & Ryan Mitchell ’98, boy, Jack, June ’10 ’98 Kelly (Blommel ’02) & Don Neu ’98, girl, Mallory, Oct. ’10 ’98 Rachel & John Rossman ’98, boy, Easton, June ’10