Today is Jerry Kramer Day in Bonner County
(FILE/AJ MAST/Invision for NFL/Associated Press) The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2018, from left, Robert Brazile, Brian Dawkins, Jerry Kramer, Ray Lewis, Randy Moss, and Brian Urlacher at the Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium in Minneapolis in 2018. Not pictured are Hall of Fame inductees Terrell Owens and Bobby Beathard.
(Photo courtesy JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) Jerry Kramer rests his hand on the plaque noting his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at a 2018 plaque presentation at Sandpoint High School. The plaque was presented to the school to acknowledge them as an official high school of the hall and to honor Kramer's hometown roots.
FILE - In this Nov. 24, 1963, file photo, Green Bay Packers offensive guard Jerry Kramer and coach Vince Lombardi watch the Packers' defense against the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game in Milwaukee. Kramer was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/File)
SANDPOINT — Today is Jerry Kramer Day in Bonner County.
County commissioners unanimously issued a proclamation Tuesday designating May 22 in honor of the gridiron great who played his 11-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers.
The proclamation date coincides with Memories of a Legend with Jerry Kramer, where Kramer and his friends will be telling stories on each other from the Panida Theater’s main stage. The event, which is a fundraiser for the DayBreak Center, begins with a pre-event reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. show time.
Badger state native and Sandpoint resident John Elsa told commissioners the event will recount Kramer’s days as a Sandpoint High School Bulldog, a University of Idaho Vandal and Green Bay Packer.
“Some of the stories you might find very interesting about his life in his younger days of a little wilder, rougher and tougher Bonner County,” Elsa told commissioners.
Elsa spearheaded efforts to obtain the proclamation and a request that the city have an honorary designation of Jerry Kramer Way added to a four-block section of Ontario Street fronting War Memorial Field. The City Council approved the request on May 15.
Elsa was moved to honor Kramer due to standout NFL career as an offensive lineman and his philanthropy locally and nationally. Kramer, a fourth-round pick in the 1958 NFL draft, was an all-pro five times during his career. He was named to the NFL’s 50th anniversary team in 1969.
“Only 318 men in the country have ever been in the pro football hall of fame and one of them came from Sandpoint,” said Elsa. “That’s pretty remarkable.”
Kramer has also championed the cause of the DayBreak Center, which provides care to those suffering from dementia and respite care to caregivers. He estimates Kramer has raised $40,000 for the DayBreak Center, in addition to other charities such as the American Cancer Society and the Wounded Warrior Project.
Elsa said there are swaths of Packer Country in the Panhandle because of Kramer’s connection to Sandpoint.
“The vast majority of people in North Idaho were Packer fans pretty much based on the fact that Jerry was from here,” Elsa said.
County commissioners noted Kramer’s commitment to the community when he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, a ceremony Kramer elected to have in the SHS gymnasium.
“To this day, Kramer continues to have an impact on the community and it is the responsibility of all of us in Bonner County to keep these memories alive and relevant,” the proclamation states.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.