My conversation with Dan Whitney was originally scheduled for a Wednesday. That morning, I got a phone call from him asking to reschedule later in the week because he had to go visit children in a hospital.
How could anyone refuse a guy like that?
This selfless gesture of kindness is exactly the sort of thing that has come to be expected of Whitney by anyone who meets him.
More commonly known as โLarry the Cable Guy,โ Whitney has been in the local Nebraska spotlight for yearsโas well as the national one. Famous for his stand-up comedy routines, including being a part of the โBlue Collar Comedy Tour,โ and voicing the character Mater in Pixarโs 2006 animated film โCarsโ (which later expanded into sequels, shorts, and video games), Whitney has established himself as a regular fixture in the entertainment industry. His catch phrase, โgit โr done,โ serves as the moniker for his charity foundation.
Established in 2009, the Git-R-Done Foundation has raised over $8 million to aid children and veterans through various external organizations. The inspiration for the foundation came from Whitneyโs son, Wyatt, who was born with hip dysplasia. Not satisfied that surgery was the only answer, Whitney and his wife, Cara, found Dr. Chad Price at Arnold Palmer Childrenโs Hospital in Orlando, Florida, who was researching how to deal with hip dysplasia in infants in Mexico. Dr. Price showed the Whitneys a new way to swaddle their son, which gradually guided his hip back into place.
โIn the process, my wife and I started talking with [Price] about how nobody really has one way to train people how to swaddle their kids, and thereโs no information on the internet about hip dysplasia in infants,โ Whitney recalled. โSo he said, โLook, we need to just train pediatricians on how to swaddle kids and how to hold them, how to put them in bed at night so their hips grow into place.โโ
So thatโs exactly what the Whitneys set out to do.
โMy wife got a bunch of our friends together and they wrote 6,000 handwritten letters to pediatricians all across the countryโฆto get them on the same page and start some kind of main hub station for this problem. A bunch of them responded, and when all was said and done, they started the International Hip Dysplasia Institute in Orlando, Florida, at Arnold Palmer.โ
Founding an institute, however, does not come cheap. It was then that Whitney began his fundraising endeavors. One of these ventures was inspired by a memorable encounter with a particular celebrity. โWhen I was doing โCars,โ I was trying to be the Redneck Paul Newman,โ Whitney laughed. โBelieve it or not, at the premier of โCars,โ in 2006, we went out to dinner, and I sat right across from Paul Newman.โ A shared elevator ride revealed that Newman was, in fact, a fan of Whitneyโs comedy sketches, and the conversation concluded with a suggestion from the legendary actor: sell food.
โWhen I started my foundation, thatโs when I said, โOh man, I should use that advice Paul Newman gave me,โโ Whitney recalled. This sparked a new brand of an irresistible salty snack: Larry the Cable Guy Tater Chips.
โThe potato chips are big sellers; people love my potato chips,โ Whitney boasted. โEven people who didnโt like my actโฆthere was some internet food thing which got millions of views. They said, โToday weโre going to do Larry the Cable Guyโs potato chips.โ Then they went on to bash me for about five minutes because they didnโt like my act. But they ate my chips, and the guy said, โIโll be honest with you. Iโm not a big fan of his, but these are the greatest potato chips Iโve had in my life.โ"
The "Biscuits & Gravy" flavor has been the most popular with consumers, but there are others like "Pass the Darn Ketchup," "Hollar-Peรฑo Popper," "Cheese Burger," and โTater Saladโ that, Whitney said, โsell like hotcakes," adding, "I just thought this is a way to help me raise money for the charity.โ
The main fundraising success, however, came with the birth of the annual golf tournament to raise money to fund this wing of the hospital. โWe had such a great time at our first tournament, and it turned into a really cool thing,โ Whitney said.
That โcool thingโ became the Git-R-Done Golf Classic, which donates the tournament's proceeds to various charities and philanthropic organizations. From supporting NICU infants to providing service dogs to veterans, Whitneyโs foundation aims to help vulnerable members of the community. โPlaces like the American Cancer Society are all great organizations, but they get millions and millions of dollars. There are lots of local charities that do really good work that donโt ask for millionsโthey just need $5,000 or $20,000, so we find places like that and kind of spread it out a little bit,โ he explained. โThatโs who we like giving it toโall these organizations across the country. Some of them arenโt that big, but every little bit helps, and they help kids and vets, so thatโs pretty cool.โ
All donations go through a vetting process before the money is doled out. โYou canโt give [money] to everybody,โ Whitney lamented. โEverything is vetted, and we make sure that itโs going to where it says itโs going.โ Whitney said itโs mostly his wife who decides where the money is donated. โI kind of stay out of it,โ he said, โbecause as she says, I canโt say โnoโ to anybody.โ
One goal of Whitneyโs since the inception of the Git-R-Done Foundation has been to give as much of the funds raised to benefactors as possible. โYou read about these charities and they raise all this money, and then 60% of it goes to pay everybody who worked,โ Whitney said. โWe have one employee, and he takes care of everything and even participates in the events himself. A lot of this comes out of our own pockets.โ
That one employee is Adrian Stumpf, executive director of the Git-R-Done Foundation.
โI had the chance to be part of [the foundation] from the very beginning,โ Stumpf said. โI worked in media and took the opportunity to get involved as the charity was being organized.โ Stumpf has the responsibility of coordinating the main fundraiser for the foundation, for which, according to Whitney, โhe does such a good job.โ
The foundation acquires the vast majority of proceeds from Whitneyโs annual golf tournament, hosted in Lincoln, Nebraska. Gathering celebrities and friends from across the country, Whitney hosts this event once a year. โWe raise money in the golf tournament that in turn takes care of everything,โ he said. โWe have unbelievable donors that love what we do, and everything is taken care of in deuces just through my golf tournamentโฆIf people want to write a check and give it to the foundation, they can and thatโs appreciated, but we donโt actively pursue thatโit mostly comes from the golf.โ
Whitney estimates this event brought in around $1,300,000 in 2023. โThatโs pretty good with only 21 foursomes in the golf tournament,โ he reflected. โWe've got a lot of donors that come in from Georgia and Florida, got a couple from Omaha. They just got really good hearts, and they like what we do. Itโs really awesome, and Iโm very appreciative.โ
The golf tournament brings in a range of participants. Local athletes, such as Nebraska football and baseball players, often participate in charity events, but Whitney likes to put a twist on his. โI love, obviously, all of our local athletes, and I try to get as many participating as possible,โ he said, โbut I like to make it a little different, a little unique. So I bring in other famous athletes from out of town and actorsโฆIโve met a lot of really cool people throughout my career, and I go do a lot of their tournaments, so theyโll come help me out too.โ
The tournamentโs list of participating athletes includes Ken Griffey Jr. (center fielder for the Seattle Mariners), John Daly (PGA champion), David Wells (pitcher for the New York Yankees), Jim McMahon (quarterback for the Chicago Bears), Joe Theismann (Super Bowl champion), and Chuck Liddell (UFC champion).
Even more impressive are the entertainment celebrities who have joined in the fun: Kim Alexis (supermodel), Willie Robertson (Duck Dynasty), Joey Fatone (NSYNC), Sean Astin (actor), Shawn Drover (drummer for Megadeth), and Jason Scheff (bassist for the band Chicago), to name a few.
โThe celebrities love it; my parties are just laid-back and fun,โ said Whitney. โThey donโt have to dress up. Itโs not formal. I have it in a barn in Hickman [Nebraska], we got food trucks, and we have an auction and entertainmentโand most of the entertainment just does it because they want to.โ This yearโs entertainment included Tyler Farr (country singer-songwriter with three number one hits), Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts), and REO Speedwagon (rock band formed in the 1960โs).
โIt is a real good time, and people pay,โ Whitney said. โSomeone paid me 50 grand to play with John Daly.โ This tournament, he emphasized, is the perfect example of a good time for a good cause.
โItโs gratifying to connect with organizations from across the country and hear from the passionate people behind them and to understand their challenges,โ said Stumpf. โThere are so many great charities that support children and veterans and to be a small part of their journeys is humbling.โ
โIโm really happy that itโs in Nebraska,โ Whitney added. โI love Nebraska, I grew up here. Itโs really cool to be able to bring people here and get some good press and donations with the tournament. Itโs cool to be able to promote it in Nebraska.โ
Even the celebrities who participate in the tournament find a new appreciation for the state, some of whom have never experienced the midwest. โ[The tournament] starts on Sunday, but now I have a lot of groups come in on Friday so they can spend the weekend. They love it here.โ
To learn more, visit gitrdonefoundation.org and hipdysplasia.org.
This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
