New home planned for Tri-Cities superfan ‘Woo-hoo’ Jimmy Butcher. How to help
Jimmy “Woo-Hoo” Butcher, the beloved Tri-Cities superfan who once inspired a bobblehead giveaway, is getting a brand new home courtesy of his own ardent fans.
Ken Hohenberg, the retired Kennewick Police Chief, and Dave Retter, owner and broker of Retter & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty, are longtime friends and fans of Butcher.
Touched by his situation, they are organizing friends and business associates to replace his water-damaged manufactured home with a new house.
“We’re going to build him a house,” Retter confirmed.
Butcher is famous among Tri-Cities sports fans for his signature yell of “woo-hoo” at Tri-City Americans’ hockey games, Dust Devils events and countless other gatherings. He’s worked at a grocery, has served as a crossing guard for Kennewick schools and coached for youth hockey.
He was recently forced to move in with a cousin after an undetected water leak destroyed his central Kennewick home. He did not have insurance.
How to help Jimmy Butcher
The Americans and Dust Devils helped organize a fund-raising campaign on Go Get Funding that had raised more than $18,400 by Friday afternoon.
When Hohenberg and Retter heard about their old friend’s predicament, they decided to take matters further and build a new house to replace his destroyed one.
Hohenberg, who currently serves as a Port of Kennewick commissioner, said he heard from Retter shortly after the Tri-City Herald reported on the situation.
“He said, ‘You know Chief, I love the Tri-City Americans and the Dust Devils. I know a lot of people want to help Jimmy. We need to get this done,’” Hohenberg said.
The two previously organized friends to help Butcher when his car broke down and when his septic tank failed.
A new home is a heavy lift, but Hohenberg said the Tri-Cities has the heart to help someone who deserves its support. Butcher is an integral part of the community, he said. Butcher owns the property where his manufactured home stood through an inheritance.
“This is a heavy lift. But if we’re going to do a heavy lift, Jimmy Butcher deserves to have that.”
Donations to the Go Get Funding site will help with personal expenses.
However, future contributions should be sent to Total Energy Management’s TEM Giving Foundation, a registered nonprofit that will make sure 100% of donations are used for Butcher and not reduced by platform fees.
Checks and donations should include “for Jimmy Butcher” in the memo field. Send them to TEM Giving Foundation, c/o 2521 Stevens Drive, Richland, WA 99354. The tax ID number is 60-2950250.
What happens next
Hohenberg and Retter tapped into their deep network to find organizations willing to lend a hand and offer in-kind support to the effort.
Cameron Watts of C Watts Trucking is helping with demolition and hauling off the damaged old structure.
Landmark Homes, owned by Mark Questad, will build a two bedroom, one and a half bathroom house. Jacob and Rhodes Heating and Air Conditioning is donating and installing the HVAC system.
“This is going to be a very nice house for Jimmy when it’s done,” Hohenberg said.
Hohenberg and Retter both have known Butcher for decades and have come to appreciate his warmth and love for the Tri-Cities. He has described himself as a “slow learner” to the Tri-City Herald and works as a grocery bagger and is involved with youth sports.
“We need more kindness in this world, and we need more Jimmy Butchers in the world,” Hohenberg said, “Even with the challenges he has, he is a hard worker and he is very proud of his association with the Kennewick School District.”
Hohenberg said the team hopes to move quickly, but he said coordinating so many volunteers and donors could take time.
“Dave would like to have this done tomorrow.”