Just as any successful team needs selfless contributions from its members, an overall collegiate athletic department is no different when it comes to its donors. Luckily, Tom and Vicki Packer have been a part of the Seawolf family for a quarter century, with their charitable contributions and volunteer efforts giving rise to an incalculable amount of success – past, present and future – by UAA student-athletes, teams and coaches.
An avid sports fan since his youth in Ohio, Tom began attending Seawolf basketball games with Vicki in the early 1980s, and the couple soon became among the team’s biggest fans. Through their affiliation with the Anchor Park United Methodist Church, the Packers met then-current Seawolf players Kevin and Beth Mader in 1992. Impressed with the Maders and following the encouragement of friends and fellow supporters Bill and Judy Dresser, Tom took a leadership role with the Rebounders Booster Club as a member of the board of directors, and he and Vicki decided to make a long-term financial commitment to Seawolf Athletics.
Since then, the Packers have become the department’s largest individual donors and among its most active volunteers and advocates. In addition to their annual giving, some of their notable contributions have included the lead gift for the UAA Building Futures campaign, the founding gift for the Student-Athlete Medical Emergency Fund, and charter membership in the Seawolf Legacy scholarship endowment fund.
They have also been benefactors for the University in general, serving as members of the UAA College of Fellows since 2005, and lending financial support to Culinary Arts & Hospitality scholarships and the library’s Foucault Pendulum. Along with their financial support, Tom has contributed countless volunteer hours for the department, serving on the Seawolf Athletic Association advisory board, as head of the former Rebounders Booster Club, as chairman of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout (2006), and much more.
In addition to their support of UAA, the Packers volunteer dozens of hours annually for their church, plus other ventures in the local community, such as Bean’s Café, Brother Francis Shelter, Anchorage Rescue Mission, Clare House, F.I.S.H., HUGSS, Food Bank of Alaska and Airport Heights Elementary School.
Avid travelers, the Packers have crisscrossed the country to follow Seawolf teams on the road, and Vicki has flown overseas multiple times to do missionary work for their church.
A financial advisor and retired nurse, respectively, Tom and Vicki have three children – Heather, David and Michelle – and three grandchildren – Devon, Savanna and Christopher – all of whom live in the Anchorage area.
