November 14 is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota, one-day event focused on online donations.
This year, Namakan is raising money for the ALS Association, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Chapter.
We're donating 25% of all sales today to help fight ALS.
Unfortunately, this cause hits way too close to home. Like many of us 80s and 90s kids, our co-founder Maggie Davis and her brother Stephen grew up in a blended family. It was actually pretty great. Her stepdad, Steve Mollner, came with two amazing daughters, and miraculously, everyone got along.
[Maggie, her husband Keven, Steve and Caran at Lake Namakan.]
An outdoorsman at heart, Steve instilled a love of the outdoors in all of his kids— “step” kid wasn’t really a part of the vocabulary. Every summer, the whole crew would pack up the truck, and fill the Sylvan fishing boat with camping gear (all expertly packed by mom, Caran) for a week camping on Namakan Lake. Fishing, waterskiing, campfires and egg McMollners, were just a few reasons who Namakan was Steve’s favorite place on the planet.
[Steve cooking up legendary Egg McMollners.]
Namakan wasn’t our first choice for a company name, but after all the other ideas we tossed around were already trademarked, we needed to regroup. We’re not sure who said Namakan first, but once it was said, that was it. A Minnesota name, for a Minnesota company that’s all about embracing the outdoors. Done deal.
Two years later in 2016, Steve started experiencing shortness of breath. After months of tests, they got an unimaginable diagnosis: ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. If you don’t know much about this devastating disease, Google it and it will break your heart.
[1990s Steve. What a hunk!]
Within months, Steve went from doing CrossFit workouts and chopping wood at the cabin to wheelchair bound. While your mind remains fully intact, ALS gradually robs you of your ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy is 2-5 years. They call it death by a million paper cuts, and that couldn’t be more accurate.
[Steve and his brothers rocking Namakan gear. Definitely our target market!]
On August 8, 2018, Steve passed away at home, surrounded by his loving family. He was only 63.
Namakan has taken on a whole new meaning for us. It’s about honoring a great man, and spreading his love for the great outdoors through our brand. And to be perfectly honest, it’s also about building a company that we love, and that we’re happy to work on every day. Life is too short to spend your time doing things you don’t enjoy.
[Steve and Maggie in August, 2018.]
In honor of Steve, we’ll be donating 25% percent of today's sales to The ALS Association’s MN/ND/SD Chapter. Currently, there’s no cure for ALS, but we’re hopeful the research funded through the ALS Association will soon change that.
Much love,
Team Namakan
Molly Mogren Katt & Maggie Davis