Team Focus (Mobile, AL) Presents 17th Annual Fundraising Banquet
TEAM FOCUS PRESENTS 16TH ANNUAL FUNDRAISING BANQUET
“AN EVENING WITH KALEN DEBOER”
MOBILE, Ala. (March 5, 2025) – For the 17th year, Team Focus will hold its annual fundraising banquet featuring this year’s keynote speaker, Coach Kalen DeBoer, head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The banquet, also celebrating 25 years of Team Focus, is set for Thursday, April 17, at the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel located at 64 S. Water Street, Mobile, Al. Team Focus founder Mike Gottfried will speak and introduce Coach DeBoer.
“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Team Focus, I am filled with gratitude for how far we’ve come and the countless lives we’ve been able to impact over the years. This milestone is a testament to the power of mentorship and the incredible young men who have walked through our program. I’m excited that Coach Kalen DeBoer of The University of Alabama will be returning to Mobile for our 17th annual fundraising banquet. Coach DeBoer’s commitment to leadership and character aligns with the mission of Team Focus, and we look forward to welcoming him back for this celebration,” states Founder, Mike Gottfried.
This special night is the sole fundraiser for the non-profit Team Focus, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. It will begin with a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and program beginning at 6 p.m. Individual tickets are $125 with early registration encouraged, as seating is limited.
Sponsorships are now available and include:
PRESENTING SPONSOR - $15,000
Includes: 2 Tables for 20 with priority seating
Private Meet & Greet for 20 with Coach DeBoer
Photo opportunity with Coach DeBoer
Autographed Coach DeBoer Alabama football & helmet
Premier listing in all marketing material and program listing
Event signage
GAME-CHANGER SPONSOR - $7,500
Includes: Table for 10 with prime seating
Private Meet & Greet for 10 with Coach DeBoer
Photo opportunity with Coach DeBoer
Autographed Coach DeBoer Alabama football
Program listing
Event signage
TEAMWORK SPONSOR - $3,000
Includes: Table for 10 with Prime Seating
Private Meet & Greet for 2 with Coach DeBoer
Photo opportunity with Coach DeBoer
Program listing
Event signage
Reserved table of Ten - $1,250
To purchase tickets, and to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact the Team Focus office at 251.635.1515 click here.
ABOUT TEAM FOCUS
Named Mobilian of the Year in 2010, Mike Gottfried drew from his own life experiences when he and his wife, Mickey, founded the faith-based Team Focus in 2000. He has over 13 years of experience as a college football head coach and has also served as a college football analyst for ESPN. (Photo: Mike Gottfried)
Team Focus is rooted in utilizing leadership skills, Christian values, guidance and continual relationships to reach young men aged 10-18 that lack a father figure in their lives. This community-centered program focuses on positive influences and role models – including high-profile, nationally-recognized collegiate and professional athletes and coaches - to reach these young men through individual mentoring, tutoring, monthly social activities, leadership camps and scholarship opportunities. Headquartered in Mobile, Ala, Team Focus has three chapter locations across the United States. Since its inception, the organization has impacted the lives of more than 8,000 young men throughout the U.S. For more information, call 251.635.1515.
ABOUT COACH KALEN DEBOER
Kalen DeBoer is in the midst of a coaching ascent rarely seen in college football. After leading Washington to the national title game, he now faces perhaps the most daunting challenge in the sport — filling the shoes of Nick Saban at Alabama. But DeBoer’s track record and coaching pedigree suggest that Alabama has found the right man to carry the torch. His journey, defined by success at every stop, signals that the winning tradition in Tuscaloosa, Ala., is in capable hands. (Photo: Coach Kalen DeBoer)
In his first season leading the Crimson Tide, DeBoer inherited a program accustomed to the highest of expectations. Alabama entered the season ranked fifth in both the preseason AP and Coaches Poll, and DeBoer wasted no time making an impact. In the season opener, Alabama dominated Western Kentucky with a commanding 63-0 victory, marking DeBoer’s first win at the helm of the Tide.
Kalen DeBoer has produced unprecedented results at every stop of his coaching career. His hard work and dedication to his craft has shaped one of the most impressive resumes in college football after just nine years as a head coach.
DeBoer's coaching philosophy stresses the importance of class, integrity and academic success. He has a passion for bringing people together while building the total program. DeBoer believes in creating an environment that allows his players to thrive. He holds a deep commitment to developing the young men in his program and investing in them both on and off the field as they prepare for their next steps in life.
DeBoer and his staff believe in developing players athletically, academically, socially and spiritually so that they leave the program as better men. Beyond winning football games, it is about building a culture within the program that is contagious and producing a team that loves each other and are willing to play for each other.
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The $15,000 Presenting Sponsor tier gets a private meet-and-greet for 20, while a $125 individual ticket only gets dinner and the program. If the banquet is truly the sole fundraiser, is the meet-and-greet access capped at sponsor levels, or can individual ticket holders buy into it separately? For the printed program and auction photos, a tool for setting image resolution to print specs might matter more than it sounds.
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Coming from a chapter outside Mobile, the $125 ticket is fine; the 5:30 silent auction and Thursday 6 p.m. program are not. No childcare or late-return plan is listed, which rules out mentors with school-age boys. A recorded keynote—something like video messages for mentoring young men without father figures—would let more chapters use the message without the drive.
$125 per ticket and a 5:30 p.m. silent auction assume a mentor can leave work early and drive to 64 S. Water Street. My constraint is a 12-hour caregiving shift on Thursdays, so April 17 is impossible. I send my mentee a short lesson instead that week, using printable mentoring activity worksheets for boys lacking a father figure, and we debrief by phone. Team Focus’s 8,000 young men deserve options beyond banquet-night attendance.
The $125 individual ticket is where my situation diverges: I mentor a 12-year-old two hours outside Mobile, so a Thursday 5:30 p.m. start at 64 S. Water Street means leave time and a ride, not just a ticket. I used a fundraising ticket and sponsorship cost calculator to see whether a $1,250 reserved table penciled out; it didn’t, but the 8,000 young men figure keeps the ask in view.