The Chicago Cubs versus the Chicago White Sox game is a crosstown classic rivalry rooted in North Side vs. South Side history and culture. This year’s game on July 25, while not short of excitement, looked a bit different as Rate hosted its second-annual Military Appreciation Game. 

The day’s events started at Rate headquarters downtown Chicago, where military guests enjoyed a luncheon and were greeted by people from the corporate office. Four organizations were also in attendance, including Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Hiring Our Heroes, United Through Reading and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Yvonne Coombs, director of military outreach at Rate, began organizing the event earlier this spring to highlight not only what the military community does but to honor its standout military family members.  

“I really wanted to highlight what the military community does, and oftentimes our service members get highlighted — as they should, very much — but I also wanted to put a spotlight on some other people in the military community that are sometimes not necessarily forgotten, but not necessarily highlighted as much as we would like them to be. And that’s our military spouses and military children,” Coombs said.  

Given this year’s event coincided with the Cubs vs. Sox game, Coombs said, “We knew we had to make that light shine a little brighter.” 

The event honored the military spouse of the year from each of the seven military branches. This year’s Hero of the Game was Marine Corps Captain Riley Tejcek, and Cameron Warpinski was the military child who threw out the first pitch. Justin Holmes sang the National Anthem.  

The military spouses did a “take the field” at the beginning of the game and met the starting lineup of the White Sox.

“It’s always fun to see the faces of our military spouses and our hero of the game and everybody light up whenever they get the warm reception that they’re getting — that’s always fun,” Coombs said. 

One moment that stood out to her was speaking with Vet Tix recipients alongside Dan Moran, Rate’s executive vice president of sales, and Tejcek, to thank them for attending.

“That entire section, the entire stands just erupted into cheer for Riley again,” Coombs said. “Everybody stood up, and they’re clapping and they’re chanting USA, USA. It was just such a cool vibe because it was so impromptu. We couldn’t do that even if we tried.” 

Coombs continued, “The entire stands — White Sox and Cubs fans — came together and were just so excited to see her and honor her and cheer for her, and really they weren’t just necessarily cheering for Riley they were cheering for our service members, and it was just a really cool thing to see.” 

Families in the military move every two to three years, whether it’s for a new job or position, Coombs noted. While the military does cover some of the moving expenses, Rate looks to add much-needed relief in waiving the loan lender fee for them. To date, Rate has waived more than $65 million in loan lender fees.

“Military families do so much for this community, and we’re trying to do big things and we’re trying to great things so that we can help support them as well and make their moves and transitions as easy as possible so that they can be focused on mission readiness,” Coombs said.

Year-round, Rate educates service members on the VA home loan process at military installations, so they’re informed and prepared when it’s time to buy a home.

“We just try to give them that education to give them a leg up on this amazing benefit that they’ve earned but to make sure that it ends up being a positive experience for them,” Coombs said.

Rate’s support extends far beyond the Military Appreciation Game. Throughout the year, the company holds an array of events and education opportunities. During the holidays, Rate hosts Reindeer Rucks, delivering thousands of dollars in toys to on-base organizations that distribute them free to military families. In 2024, Rate hosted six Reindeer Rucks across the country.

“We went out and went into those communities and really tried to be a part of it — more than just writing a check,” Coombs said. “And there’s nothing wrong with somebody when that’s what they have the time for and that’s what they want to do — to write a check, but we also want to be a part of it.”