Super Bowl Champion to speak at Grayson County MLK Jr. Event
December 8, 2016
Super Bowl Champion to speak at Grayson County MLK Jr. Event
SHERMAN, TEXAS— The 13th annual Grayson County Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Breakfast will be held Monday, January 16, at 7:15 a.m. in Mabee Hall of the Robert J. and Mary Wright Campus Center at Austin College. The cost is $15 per person, payable at the door; admission is free for the faculty and students of Grayson College and Austin College.
Sherman and Grayson County Rotary Clubs, Wilson N. Jones Regional Medical Center, Austin College, Grayson College and the Sherman Neighborhood Recreation Committee sponsor the event. Members of the community are welcome.
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. George Koonce, Super Bowl XXXI Champion, former starting linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, and current Senior Vice President of University Relations at Marian University in Wisconsin. Koonce is known as the “Doctor of Defense” because he is one of only two men to not only play for the Packers but also earn a doctoral degree. He began his college career at Chowan College in North Carolina. Before graduating in 1989, he was named Coastal Conference Defensive Player of the Year. After a year stint in the World League of American Football, Koonce was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1992, and was a starter for eight years.
He continued his education by earning his bachelor's degree at New York University in 1999, his master’s in Sports Management from East Carolina in 2006, and his doctorate from Marquette University in 2012. Koonce has served in a variety of athletic administrative positions at Marquette University (Wisconsin), Wisconsin-Milwaukee, East Carolina University, as well as for the Green Bay Packers. His dissertation, “Role Transition of National Football League Player: Using the Grounded Theory,” brought awareness to the challenges that NFL retirees face. In 2014 he co-authored Is There Life After Football?: Surviving the NFL with James A. Holstein and Richard S. Jones.
The annual parade celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. will be held Saturday, January 14 at noon. All churches, civic and social groups, and members of the public are welcome. The parade route begins at 400 S. Travis St. near Sherman’s downtown area. A service will follow in Wynne Chapel on the Austin College campus. For parade participation information contact Rev. Charles Brown Sr. at 903-818-4728 or Karen Brown at 903-209-6664.
Grayson College embraces lifelong learning focused on educational, cultural, social and public service activities designed to tangibly enrich the individual and our community. The mission of Grayson College is to cultivate student success and community building in North Texas by providing a broad and dynamic curriculum to support university transfer, career technical education, developmental and community education. By developing innovative curricula and services facilitated by appropriate technology, the college creates a supportive learning environment promoting diversity and cultural enrichment. Our programs support economic development, and our commitment to an institutional effectiveness process assures continuous improvement in the pursuit of excellence.