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Dear Members of MN USA Powerlifting,

As you all know, I will not be running for re-election as the MN State Chair when my term ends on December 31 of this year. My hope was that two qualified and interested people would step forward to take over as co-state chairs. I had a short list of people who I thought would do a great job but I did not reveal that list to anyone because it is important that the people who take over do it because they want to, not because they feel obligated because I think they would do a great job. Nothing brought me greater pleasure than when I was approached by Shannon Murphy and Ken Graack a month ago to inform me that they are interested in the job. I gave it a month to see if they wanted to change their minds after the enormity of what they were volunteering for sunk in. We all drove out to Fargo-Moorhead together this past weekend and had a lot of time to talk about the job. I am happy to say they are still interested and I believe now is the time to make this known to the MN membership.

Shannon and Ken were at the top of my list. Ken has been a member of MN ADFPA/USA Powerlifting since 1983 – 36 years! He first joined the organization when it was two years old. I am not sure how many active members can say that. He has been a lifter, coach, and meet director for many years. He is the owner and proprietor of American Strength Training Center in Maplewood – a Silver Level USA Powerlifting Regional Training Center. He knows the MN members, the networks, the organization, and the history. Shannon has been involved with MN USA Powerlifting for several years as a lifter and meet director. I have never seen a team like Shannon and Ken – they complement each other very well. They impressed me like few have from the very first time I met them – their personalities, temperaments, organization, desire for the highest meet standards and an absolute and unwavering belief in, and support for, the drug-free founding mission of USA Powerlifting. If MN is to continue on this unbelievable trajectory we have been on, I am 100% confident that Shannon and Ken are THE two people to take us into the next chapter of this incredible story. The dynamic between Shannon and Ken, in addition to their work ethic and service-oriented approach, is precisely what is required to manage a growing state like MN. Between them, they have invested in quite a bit of equipment to run meets. While owning the equipment to run meets is not required of state chairs, it is extremely helpful and takes pressure off meet directors and makes the entry into meet directing much easier for those interested in getting started. They will also be great mentors to the next generation of MN meet directors and referees.

Anyone can run for the state chair position and a vote from the MN membership will determine who takes over when my term is done. I cannot choose my successor but I can put my strongest endorsement behind those who I think will do the best job at continuing the culture I have tried very hard to instill in our state organization over the past 10 years. It is my great honor and privilege to hereby nominate Shannon Murphy and Ken Graack for the position of co-state chairs of MN USA Powerlifting beginning in 2020. Anyone who knows Shannon and Ken knows they are the obvious choice. Let’s all be thankful that they are willing to step up to take on what is a huge responsibility and a LOT of work. I hope you will join me in supporting Shannon and Ken.

Sincerely,

Joe Warpeha

MN USA Powerlifting State Chair

The final membership numbers for 2018 have been released. Nationally, USA Powerlifting had 22,026 members in 2018 and held 365 meets (a meet every day, on average). Minnesota had a total of 756 members in 2018, up 26% from 598 in 2017, and there were 13 events in the state.

A look back to 10 years ago: In 2008, Minnesota had 58 members and 2 meets in the state. The national membership in 2008 was 3,897 and the largest state had exactly 500 members.

Credit for the state’s growth (and management of that growth) goes to the incredible and selfless members, referees, meet directors, and volunteers in Minnesota – and the people in their lives (significant others, children, friends, family, co-workers, etc.) who made sacrifices to allow them to take the better part of many Saturdays to help make our events happen.

Brad Madvig passed away on Friday, August 10, 2018 after a long and courageous battle with a chronic illness.

I can safely say that no single person has done more for powerlifting in the state of Minnesota than Brad Madvig. Many of the newer lifters may never have met him but he was the face of powerlifting in the state for years. Much of the success we have today we owe directly to Brad and his contributions and innovations. What we have today in USA Powerlifting of Minnesota is built upon the foundation he laid down years ago. And though I do not think he ever had the title of ADFPA/USA Powerlifting state chair, for all intents and purposes he might as well have had the title based on the work he put in – and I mean many thousands of hours of thankless work. He ran meets and helped at meets (in any capacity needed: spotter/loader, referee, set-up, promotion, etc.). In the late 90s, he took advantage of this new thing called the internet and harnessed its power long before others saw the value (or had the expertise to create/manage anything online). He created the state’s first website and USA Powerlifting’s first national online forum which almost everyone at the time read – and there were some epic discussions representative of the passion and emotion of many powerlifters. The forum was a huge leap from the pages of Powerlifting USA – the powerlifting magazine we all waited for each month. With this online forum, discussions could be had across the country (and world) in real time and information could be disseminated immediately. He created a place to house state records (for numerous federations) and painstakingly managed them for many years. More recently he created a ranking database – something lifters in the state had requested. But at the heart of it all, he simply loved everything powerlifting. He was a high-level competitor, having competed locally, nationally, and internationally. He lifted geared and raw and set many state records over the years. The combination of his passion for the sport and his computer/technical skills allowed him to promote powerlifting in ways that made him a pioneer.

My relationship with Brad was different than most. I was not part of the old gang who trained and competed together in the Twin Cities since the 90s. Strong bonds were formed within that core group who stuck with the sport even during its lean times. I was a bit of an outsider in the sense that I moved to Minnesota as an adult and I just started showing up at meets one day seeking ways to become more involved after some injuries put competing on hold. Those who have been around for a while know that Brad and I did not always see eye-to-eye on things. As the state chair, it was my job to enforce the rules – even the ones I did not agree with (and there are several). Brad always fought for the lifter and shined a spotlight on what he perceived to be wrong or flawed with the rules or system. Those who knew Brad know he never backed down and always stood up for what he believed was right either for an individual lifter or the organization or sport as a whole. He told you what he thought. He had little patience for organizational politics and the frustrations that result from such wrangling. The irony of it all was that I usually agreed with Brad and what he was fighting/advocating for and I shared this with him more than once. I was often stuck in a difficult place between agreeing with what Brad was fighting for and knowing (via my roles as state chair and executive committee member) that there were circumstances that made it easier said than done. Unfortunately, much of it was confidential information so I could not share with him the specific reasons that might have allowed him to better understand my positions or reasons for taking certain actions. Despite the up and down relationship we had over the better part of 10 years, we always put aside personal differences to help each other run an event. Just a couple of years ago, I was short a referee for Twin Ports Raw Open a few days before the meet. I asked Brad if he could help and he did so with almost no notice. This is just one of countless examples of how Brad always put the lifters and the sport first. If you were fortunate enough to get to know the man behind the online persona, you saw a truly sensitive and caring person.

We will probably never know exactly how much Brad put into the sport of powerlifting or how much he sacrificed or how much he suffered when his illness prevented him from being involved in what he loved so much. What I do know is that I cannot think of anyone in Minnesota who has done as much which says a lot in a state that has a longer powerlifting history than many states.

One of my greatest regrets is not powerlifting-related, surprisingly enough. Brad and I both shared an intense interest in science fiction, particularly Star Trek. I regret that he and I were never able to sit down together, put aside powerlifting, and watch a few episodes of Star Trek. It probably would have turned into a contest to see who could have quoted more lines from a particular episode or who could have answered more Star Trek trivia questions. There is likely a quote from James T. Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard that would be appropriate to end this with. Unfortunately, I am not wise enough to know what it is so I will conclude simply by asking everyone to, in their own way, thank Brad for what he brought you and added to your life, powerlifting or otherwise. My guess is that he would ask you to pay it forward. In the world of Minnesota powerlifting, we all owe him more than we know.

Thank you Brad.

Funeral information:

Washburn McReavy Funeral Home
7625 Mitchell Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Monday, August 27: 4-7pm – visitation

Tuesday, August 28: 10am – visitation with 11am funeral

Please consider attending the Brad Madvig Memorial Benefit on September 22nd.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1716901898386407/

– Joe Warpeha

This year’s Twin Cities Open (TCO) will be held on April 22 at American Strength in Maplewood. 

The following is from Jim Cahill (TCO meet director): “As some of you may know, Brad Madvig has been dealing with serious medical issues since he was diagnosed with an extremely rare benign brain tumor in September of 2015. Since then, he has been battling hydrocephalus (retention of water and cerebrospinal fluid in brain), increased intercranial pressure, abnormal clusters of blood vessels in the brain (fistulas) and severely diminished vision to the point that he has not driven a car or worked since last September. He has exhausted all of his short term disability benefits last December and is in the process of applying for long term disability benefits. Since last September, he has undergone 6 surgeries, and the most recent surgery on February 7th resulted in a 5 week hospital stay at the University of Minnesota Hospital where he lost his ability to speak. Just yesterday, he was discharged so that he can receive the physical, occupational, and speech therapy that he needs in order to get back on track. All proceeds from the meet minus drug testing costs and the sanction fee will go towards Brad’s expenses. Brad has been an instrumental figure on the Minnesota powerlifting scene going back to the late 1990s. This meet will give everyone an opportunity to compete, have fun, and help out someone who has given so much to the sport here in Minnesota!”

To register, click here.