Brock Huard and Dr. Bonnie Dunbar named as special guest speakers for Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser
Tue, 04/01/2008
King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer and Shelley Puariea, Executive Director of the Federal Way & Auburn Boys and Girls Clubs and EX3 Ron Sandwith Teen Center, announced today that former Seattle Seahawks and University of Washington quarterback, Brock Huard, along with NASA astronaut and current President and CEO of the Museum of Flight, Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, Ph.D., will be featured as special guest speakers at the Federal Way & Auburn Boys and Girls Club and EX3 Teen Center annual "Breakfast for Kids" fundraiser.
The fundraiser begins at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday April 8 at Emerald Downs in Auburn.
"Throughout the years we have had many extraordinary community leaders join us as our keynote speakers, and this year we are lucky enough to have two," said honorary breakfast chairman and longtime board member Pete von Reichbauer, "Brock and Bonnie bring unique experiences and knowledge that will help contribute to another fantastic event for all who attend."
"We at the Boys and Girls Club are truly excited to have two incredible role-models supporting our organization and speaking at our event," said Shelley Puariea.
"Brock and Bonnie will not only serve as shining examples of hard work, integrity and success to all of our children, but they will also significantly assist us in our efforts to raise funds at this event."
Funds raised at the "Breakfast for Kids" event will be used for student scholarships as well as educational, cultural and sports programs that benefit more than 3,500 deserving youth in South King County.
Hometown football star Brock Huard enjoyed a successful football career at Puyallup High School earning accolades such as Gatorade's National Player of the Year. Following his senior season, he was one of the most highly recruited high school football players in the country.
He chose to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and attend the University of Washington.
Huard was recognized for his high achievement both on and off the field and was named an Academic All-American in both of his final two seasons.
After six seasons in the NFL, Huard has spent the last three years in local sports broadcasting.
Huard works as the television analyst for Washington Husky football games on FSN, co-hosts a postgame Seahawk show on NWCN, is a part of the Seahawks broadcasting team, and works part time with ESPN and the NFL Network.
A native of the small, south-central Washington rural community of Outlook, Bonnie Dunbar earned bachelor's and master's degrees in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington and a doctorate in mechanical/biomedical engineering from the University of Houston.
She held research and engineering positions with Boeing, Harwell Laboratories and Rockwell International until 1978, when she joined NASA as a flight controller.
Two years later, in 1980, she was selected as a NASA mission specialist astronaut.
A veteran of five space missions, Dunbar has logged 1,208 hours - more than 50 days - in orbit aboard the shuttles Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia and Endeavour. Dunbar has led the Museum of Flight as President and CEO since September 2005.
The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those that need us the most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
According to the King County Housing Authority, when a Boys & Girls Club opens in a neighborhood, the community sees a 24 percent drop in crime, a 38 percent decrease in emergency medical service calls and a 70 percent decrease in vandalism.
"Our community understands how important it is to invest in South King County's youth," said von Reichbauer. "I have been on the Federal Way and Auburn Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors for three decades, and I will always do what I can to support people and programs that do so much good for the youth in our community."