Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund

09/06/2026

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08/29/2026

⛳️💙 THANK YOU! 💙⛳️

What an incredible day we had last Saturday for the 3rd Annual Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund Golf Outing!

Thanks to the amazing generosity of our sponsors, donors, golfers, volunteers, and everyone who supported this year’s outing, we raised OVER $7,000! 🎉

We are incredibly grateful to every business and individual who sponsored a hole, donated a raffle item, purchased tickets, golfed with us, volunteered their time, or helped make the day a success. Your continued support allows the Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund to honor Joel’s memory and continue making a difference in our community by supporting first responder and foster care families through the Saginaw Community Foundation. 💙

To all of our golfers — thank you for spending the day with us! We hope you had as much fun as we did, and we truly appreciate you coming back year after year to support something that means so much to our family.
And to our sponsors — we simply could not do this without you. Your generosity is what makes this event possible.

Over $7,000 raised in Joel’s memory. 💙

That is something we can all be incredibly proud of.
Thank you for helping us continue Joel’s legacy and for making the 3rd Annual Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund Golf Outing another amazing success.

Special THANK YOU to the following businesses and individuals:
RE/MAX New Image Real Estate Saginaw MI
Capital Granite
Muzzy Pheasant Farm
Hunt Arsenal
My Member Insurance Agency
Gobeyn's Bridgeport Towing and Repair
Bavarian Comfort Care
The Bus Stop Bar & Grille
Suski Automotive
Tim Crawford CPA
Owen Moore Agency
Able Greenhouse and Garden Center
Art Sample Home
United Financial Credit Union
Subway Frankenmuth
Timbers Golf Club
Garber Chevrolet (Aaron Bradshaw)
Butter Crust Bakery
Biggby Coffee Frankenmuth
Golf 4 Less
Dick Williams Gun Shop
Tractor Supply Bridgeport
ABC Warehouse Saginaw
Pride and Country Village
Alpine Mountain Golf
Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland
Wilderness Trails Zoo
Home Depot
Stardust Entertainment Center
Grohman's Greenhouse and Flower Shop
Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge
Detroit Tigers
Zehnders Splash Village & Restaurant
Saginaw Spirit
Amigo Mobility
Thrivent
Huntington Bank Frankenmuth
Bob & Rose Licht
Rob Licht
Donna & Ed Moncy
Eric & Allison Monroe
Bryan Jones

Thank you so much for your support,
Stef & Emalyn

08/29/2026

If you know me at all, you know I support many organizations, local charities, families and people in need. But there is one group that has always held a special place with me: our First Responders.
I’m not exactly sure why. No one in my family was in law enforcement, a firefighter, dispatcher or EMS. Maybe it’s simply the idea that when everyone else is running away from danger, they are the ones running toward it—often to save people they have never met.
Long before September 11, 2001, 9/11 was already an important date in my life. It was Fred Wieland, my dad’s birthday.
I haven’t really celebrated that day since he passed, but this year feels different. It feels like the right year to honor his birthday in a way that would mean something.
My dad went to college in his 50s and became the first male in our family to earn a college degree. And, fittingly enough, that degree was in Criminal Justice.
Like so many Americans, September 11, 2001 had a profound effect on me. I was installing an A/C unit that morning and listening to the radio as everything unfolded. When the second tower was hit, we stopped what we were doing, went home and, like millions of others, stared at the television for what seemed like two straight days.
One image has never left me: fire trucks, police cars and First Responders racing toward the destruction while everyone else was trying to get away.
They didn't know who they might find. They didn't know if they would make it back out. They just knew people needed help, and they went.
That has stuck with me ever since.
Years later, I was fortunate enough to visit Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial. If you've never been, I highly encourage you to go at least once. Just bring a couple boxes of tissues. It is absolutely overwhelming.
So this year, on my dad's birthday and on a day when our country remembers the incredible sacrifice of so many First Responders, RE/MAX New Image wants to simply say THANK YOU.
🇺🇸 FIRST RESPONDERS — LUNCH IS ON US! 🇺🇸
Friday, September 11
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Intermission Deli
RE/MAX New Image is honored to buy lunch for our local Police Officers, Firefighters, Dispatchers, EMTs, Paramedics and First Responders.
No speeches. No strings attached.
Just lunch and a heartfelt THANK YOU for being the people who run toward the danger when the rest of us are running away.
Please help us spread the word. Share this post. Print the flyer. Hang it in your station, department, ambulance bay, dispatch center or break room. Tag a First Responder and make sure they know.
We've done this before.
Let's make September 11, 2026 the biggest one yet. 🇺🇸
In memory of those we lost.
In honor of those who answered the call.
And, for me personally, in honor of my dad.
Thank you, First Responders. Lunch is on us.
Dave Wieland
Broker/Owner

08/22/2026

And we're off! Thank you to all our golfers and volunteers for braving the weather this morning. So happy to have had the storm break in time for tee off. Breakfast was delicious, thank you to our sponsors Butter Crust Bakery and Biggby Coffee Frankenmuth! Big thank you to our beverage cart sponsor RE/MAX New Image Real Estate Saginaw MI! Looking forward to a great day of golf in remembrance of Joel. 💙🖤💙

08/21/2026

Rain or shine, we're looking forward to the Trooper Joel Popp 3rd Annual Memorial Golf Outing tomorrow at Timbers Golf Club in Vassar! Come hungry, we're serving up the best donuts ever courtesy of Butter Crust Bakery and your choice of iced or hot coffee from our generous friends at Biggby Coffee Frankenmuth. Make sure you save room for a famous chicken dinner following the outing catered by the one and only Norm's! Looking forward to a great day remembering and honoring Joel while raising money for the Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund which supports first responder and foster families. 💙

08/20/2026

The Trooper Joel Popp 3rd Annual Memorial Golf Outing would like to thank Biggby Coffee Frankenmuth for their donation to our raffle as well as donating coffee to all our golfers for the morning of our upcoming outing! Community support is essential in carrying on Joel's legacy by raising funds for the Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund. We are looking forward to a day of remembering & honoring Joel at our upcoming golf outing on August 22nd at Timbers Golf Club in Vassar. ⛳

08/19/2026

The Trooper Joel Popp 3rd Annual Memorial Golf Outing would like to thank Garber Chevrolet Saginaw for their donation! Community support is essential in carrying on Joel's legacy by raising funds for the Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund. We are looking forward to a day of remembering & honoring Joel at our upcoming golf outing on August 22nd at Timbers Golf Club in Vassar. ⛳

08/19/2026

The Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Mitchell Budnick. We are heartbroken to learn of the loss of another member of Joel’s 137th Trooper Recruit School. Gone far too soon. 💙🖤💙

In Mitchell’s memory, an education fund has been established for his daughter, Luca, through the Michigan Education Savings Program. Donations may be made at ugift529.com using code J33-F56.

Donations may also be made to CopLine, a nonprofit providing free, confidential, 24/7 support to law enforcement officers and their families, at copline.com.

Please keep Mitchell’s family, his fellow troopers, and all who knew and loved him in your thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.

Rest easy, Trooper Budnick.

https://www.smithminer.com/obituaries/Mitchell-Jared-Budnick?obId=49227130&source=fb0&fbclid=IwdGRjcATx8UVwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvXgjV22muFWlgJTpx2Cl7NrEh6iYtNOKPNRnZpr8oQzlI82QXado1D66qVT_aem_JK7FolVblgKHMFPwOvhUeQ

View Mitchell Jared Budnick's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

08/18/2026

The Trooper Joel Popp 3rd Annual Memorial Golf Outing would like to thank Abele Greenhouse & Garden Center for their donation! Community support is essential in carrying on Joel's legacy by raising funds for the Trooper Joel Popp Memorial Fund. We are looking forward to a day of remembering & honoring Joel at our upcoming golf outing on August 22nd at Timbers Golf Club in Vassar. ⛳