"Through that process, we found out that while the community knew certainly of the organization and what we did, it was primarily football. We were doing more and more non-football stuff, just promoting all the other things going on here." "We had everything going on, but we didn't necessarily tell that story," Popkey said. About 10 years ago, he moved out of the football side altogether. Popkey's transition into non-football operations - the team’s public relations apparatus now includes football and non-football units - was the result of Lambeau Field's expansion and a belief that the team was not getting its message across about its community involvement. RELATED: Doug Collins keeps Lambeau Field safe RELATED: Packers lead director has Green Bay roots RELATED: Packers reflect President/CEO Murphy “It really opened your eyes to the big machine that goes into making these games happen,” he said of his tenure as travel coordinator. For five years he was the team’s travel coordinator when Ray Rhodes and Mike Sherman were head coaches. He traveled a lot, doing advance work in other NFL cities in the days before the internet simplified that process. Popkey initially supported football operations, writing press releases and working with coaches and players on media requests and PR, but his position changed as the organization evolved, especially since the 2003 renovation of Lambeau Field that made the stadium a year-round operation. He interned for three years with the Packers beginning in 1993 before former PR director Lee Remmel hired him full time. Popkey is a graduate of Abbot Pennings High School and of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied broadcast public relations. “Mark (Murphy) is our ultimate person, but he can’t be everywhere at once,” Popkey said. In his 24th year with the organization, Popkey is chief spokesman and director of public affairs, a relatively new position that has Popkey representing the Packers in the community, such as at government meetings and on the boards of community organizations, and coordinating requests from the media and the public. After President and CEO Mark Murphy, he is the non-football face of the Packers. He joined the team as a public relations intern just when the Packers began experiencing dramatic growth on and off the field. The last game the De Pere native attended as a fan was in 1992 against Cincinnati when Brett Favre took over as the Packers’ No. GREEN BAY – Big changes were afoot when Aaron Popkey joined the Green Bay Packers and they haven't stopped since.
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