Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Green Bay FD take part in friendly Packers wagers

ATLANTA -- We're all betting on a big Green Bay Packers WIN Sunday, January 22nd in the NFC Championship Game vs. the Falcons in Atlanta -- and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and the Green Bay Fire Department have made wagers with their cohorts in the Green Bay and Atlanta areas.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele on Friday, January 20th joined Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach in betting on a Packers victory in the NFC Championship Game against the Falcons, according to a release from Abele's office.

In a friendly wager with Fulton County Chairman John Eaves, Streckenbach is putting up bratwurst from Maplewood Meats, beer from the historic Titletown Brewery and cheese products from Award-winning, Farm Fresh Ron’s Cheese. Eaves will put up several cases of Coke from the world’s largest beverage maker; peach cobbler from Pascal’s Restaurant, a legacy since 1947; and chili dogs from The Varsity, the world’s largest drive-in restaurant.

Abele is joining the bet and sweetening the deal by adding in a case of Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous, and sausages from Usingers.

County Executive Abele also joined County Executive Streckenbach at the Packers Pep Rally hosted by Downtown Green Bay at Packers Heritage Trail Plaza in Green Bay on Saturday.

“Watching the Packers this season has been a whole lot of fun for our entire state and a great reminder that our shared values of hard work, dedication, and teamwork are a winning combination on the football field and in our communities,” said County Executive Abele in a statement. “I’m happy to join my friend County Executive Troy Streckenbach in showing support for the Packers. I have the utmost confidence that Aaron Rodgers and Co. will be able to R-E-L-A-X and keep winning.”

“The Packers are more than just Green Bay or Brown County’s team, they are Wisconsin’s team,” said County Executive Streckenbach in the statement. “I am supportive of this collaborative effort because when the Packers do well, Wisconsin does well.”

Meanwhile, Green Bay Metro Fire Department Chief Dave Litton has reached out to Atlanta Fire Rescue Department’s Fire Chief Joel G. Baker, to place a friendly wager on the matchup.

The wager entails the losing team’s fire chief install a smoke alarm branded with the winning team’s logo in their office.

“No matter the outcome of the game, our united goal is to raise awareness of the importance of fire safety, specifically working smoke alarms in homes,” said Chief Litton in a statement. “This weekend’s NFC Championship is going to be a battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the league, but I just can’t see any team stopping our Packers run to the big game!”

Chief Litton upped the ante by also including a personal donation of $100 to the Burn Camp of Wisconsin which is run by the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation (PFFWCF). Green Bay Fire Local 141 will match Chief Litton’s donation to the burn camp as well.

“The Packers are red hot right now and so are our efforts in raising awareness of having working smoke alarms in the homes of our residents,” said Chief Litton. “Also to take this opportunity to bring awareness to the incredible burn camp put on by the PFFWCF and the impact it has on burn survivors, just seemed fitting. Regardless of the outcome of the game, everyone is a winner.”

As part of the wager, The Buff Project, a New York City-based fire safety organization and distributor of officially licensed NFL Team Identified Smoke alarms, will donate 50 NFL licensed team-branded smoke alarms to each of the fire departments to use in their fire safety outreach efforts. Also, during the NFL playoffs, for every NFL team-identified smoke detector sold on their website, The Buff Project will donate one smoke alarm to that city’s fire department.

“Working smoke alarms are the front line in preventing fire-related fatalities,” said Chief Baker in the statement. “Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s game, I am thrilled that, thanks to the Buff Project, our Atlanta Smoke Alarm Program will have 50 Atlanta Falcons branded smoke alarms to install in Atlanta homes. That Falcons smoke alarm will look great hanging in Chief Litton’s office,” he added.

For further information about The Buff Project and to purchase a team-identified smoke detector, CLICK HERE.

For further information on the Burn Camp, CLICK HERE and like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AFSBurnCamp