Williston Park’s Chris Windisch is one of ten finalists for the Green Bay Packers FAN Hall of Fame.
If elected, Windisch would be the 25th member of the hall, which was founded in 1988.
Windisch, who died in September at the age of 64, was previously a top-ten finalist in 2012 and 2014.
“When I asked my father why he chose the Packers, he told me he was 8 years old and looking for a leader, Vince Lombardi,” said Samantha Windisch in her submission essay for the nomination. “He was my father’s role model and so at eight years he put himself on the Packers season ticket waiting list. In 2011, 46 years later he got them!”
Lambeau Field, where the Packers have played their home games since 1957, has been sold out on a season ticket basis since 1960.
Windisch has also been a partial owner of the Packers since he was 9 years old after saving money from his paper route, Samantha said. Windisch’s wife Jeanne, three children, Samantha, Morgan, and Brett, named after quarterback Brett Favre, are also partial owners.
The Packers are the only publicly owned major sports franchise in the United States. As of 2022, they were held by 537,460 stockholders.
The franchise’s sixth stock sale finished in 2022 with 194,537 shares sold at $300, raising over $64.5 million.
“When my mother and father got engaged and planned to set a date, my father had to make sure it was not during the season and sure enough, they had to get married in February,” Samantha said. “Being a Packers fan in New York is tough, but my father never lets it bring him down. We have a huge Packers helmet on the back of our car that is extremely hard to miss. My father claims that he is part of one of the biggest most loyal families in the world.”
Windisch grew up in Stony Brook and was a graduate of Ward Melville High School where he played lacrosse.
The voting deadline is midnight, Jan. 31. The winner will be announced in late winter 2023 and receive four club seats to a home game, a $500 Packers Pro Shop gift certificate, a road trip for two and have their name added to the list of honorees in the Packers Hall of Fame.
“Honoring him with this would be the greatest achievement I could ask for,” Samantha said.
Voting online can be found on the team’s website.
A previous edition of this story was published. It has since been updated.