Coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in college basketball history, will be helping United Way of Bradley County kickoff its annual campaign on Aug. 25 at the organization's Campaign Kickoff Luncheon.
This luncheon will be held for the first time at Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy and is the traditional beginning of the United Way of Bradley County campaign.
Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy is located at the intersection of Peerless Road and Raider Drive.
Coach Summitt enters her 36th season as coach this year, having recorded more than 1,000 collegiate wins. Her Lady Vols have been crowned National Champion eight times, including most recently back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008.
During her tenure at UT, Summitt's teams have also produced 27 Southern Conference tournament and regular season championships, have made an unprecedented 28 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament and produced 12 Olympians, 19 Kodak All-Americans named to 33 teams, 72 All-SEC performers, 45 international participants and 43 professional players representing the ABL, WNBA or overseas teams.
Along with success on the court, Coach Summit has a 100 percent graduation rate for all Lady Vols who have completed their eligibility at Tennessee.
This will be Coach Summitt's second appearance at a United Way of Bradley County kickoff luncheon.
"We were honored to have Coach Summitt help us kick off our campaign back in 2006 and are pleased that she has agreed to return and get us off to a great start for the 2009 United Way campaign," said United Way of Bradley County Board Chairman Stephen Crass.
Crass was a campaign co-chair the year Summitt first spoke at a United Way kickoff.
"This is so special because Coach Summitt makes very few appearances away from the Knoxville area for such events, but has such a commitment to United Way that she agreed to help us again get our campaign off to a great start," he noted.
Coach Summitt cochaired the United Way campaign in Knoxville in 1996 and continues to be an active spokesman for United Way. When she served as co-chair for the United Way of Greater Knoxville campaign, she gave hundreds of speeches and logged incredible amounts of time visiting the various United Way agencies, while also involved in recruiting, running camps and continuing to direct the most successful program in the nation.
She also has worked with The Race for the Cure, Juvenile Diabetes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Easter Seals, and American Heart Association and American Lung Association. In 1996, she was named "Distinguished Citizen of the Year" by the Great Smoky Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, a United Way agency.
"Coach Summitt has such a busy schedule as coach of the Lady Vols, that it is amazing to see how much she gives back to the community," Crass added. "Her dedication to helping those in the community who receive help through United Way agencies is an inspiration to all of us that we too can take time out of our busy schedules and help others."
Along with the visit from Coach Summitt, the kickoff luncheon will also feature presentations from Pacesetter and Challenger firms, both of which conduct early campaigns and report their totals at that time. Challenger firms also pledge to attempt to raise 10 percent more in contributions than the previous year's campaign.
The meeting will begin at noon, but food lines for the luncheon will open at 11:15 a.m., and with a large crowd expected, organizers suggest arriving early. Tickets are $15 each.
Reservations are required for the luncheon, and may be made, by mail, by writing the United Way of Bradley County at P.O. Box 193, Cleveland, TN 37364-0193, by fax at 339-1110, by e-mail at unitedwaybc@yahoo.com or by calling the United Way office at 479-2020 or 472-9876.
Deadline for reservations is Aug. 18.
The kickoff will be co-hosted by the Rotary Club of Cleveland and the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland and will be considered a regular meeting for those organizations.
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