Getting Back To Military Appreciation Base-ics

When the Kraken set out to design a jersey for Military Appreciation Night, pres. by Starbucks, one local base quickly sprang to mind.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, about nine miles southwest of Tacoma, has been around since its origination as Fort Lewis back in 1917. And when thinking about symbols to emboss within the themed Kraken jersey’s numbers, the Kraken’s brand team figured a map of JBLM worked best. It would depict not only the service members residing and training within that base, but all other military installations in the surrounding region.

“In the past, our brand team whipped up a creative spin on the numbers for military appreciation,” Kraken marketing specialist Samatha Jabara said. “Something we wanted to do this year was integrate the JBLM map into the numbers themselves.”

Military Appreciation Night is part of the team’s Common Thread series of nine themed community games featuring specially designed jerseys.

“This isn’t something we worked with them on. More so, we were inspired by JBLM. We wanted to spotlight the many bases we have in the Pacific Northwest – JBLM being one of the most prominent.”

The black-and-gold-colored jerseys will be autographed by Kraken players and auctioned off through the One Roof Foundation’s Anchor Auction on Military Appreciation Night - the team’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets next Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Climate Pledge Arena.

The day prior, Starbucks representatives and Kraken center Matty Beniers will be on the ice right after practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex to present a $50,000 Puck Drop Grant check to Blue Star Families, the first and largest community-based military family support organization.

Starbucks and Blue Star Families have partnered since 2015 on initiatives connecting military families with their neighbors and with resources to help them thrive within communities.

Starbucks has undertaken its new season-long Military Commitment initiative with the Kraken – which included a Military Appreciation Day at training camp at the Community Iceplex in September – as part of its broader commitment to those who serve and their families to raise awareness and support for the military community.

The Kraken have had a partnership with Vet Tix, an online platform in which fans can donate their game tickets to active-duty military members and veterans. In addition, new this season, the team is partnered with GovX, an online platform offering discounted Kraken seats to that same active duty and veteran group.

Also, at next Tuesday’s game, fans who buy Military Appreciation Night promotional tickets on the team website will receive a free, limited edition military Kraken hat. This can be picked up simply by scanning your ticket at the team store, The Lair, inside the arena from when doors open to the end of the second intermission.

Beyond the hats and auctioned jerseys, Jabara said the night is mostly about paying homage to military members past and present.

“It’s about giving recognition and celebrating military members and their families.”

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