Tony Dungy Said....

Most of my students want to be famous. I tell them I'm not sure it would be all that great! This is from August 28, 2010.

It was a big day for Westbury Christian School. We had a fundraiser, probably the biggest event in our history, to purchase land to expand our athletic facilities. You see, we are landlocked and desperately need a place where our kids can practice and play football, soccer, softball, and baseball. The dinner brought together roughly six hundred folks who, Lord willing, will share our dream to make our school the best it can be. To have a benefit, you need a speaker and we hit a home run. Tony Dungy, Super Bowl winning coach and best selling author, was our honored guest and he brought the key note address. Coach Dungy is a good friend of our football coach, Charlie Ward, and was the recipient of the first ever Charlie Ward Tribute Of Excellence Award for his working to make our families stronger. It was a wonderful affair! The most recognizable face in the crowd belonged to 7'6'' Houston Rocket Yao Ming, in the top photo. (For you basketball buffs, the tall guy in the blue shirt is five time NBA All Star Jack Sikma.) We pray today was a big step for WCS in fulfilling a dream for an athletic complex which in turn could allow the part of our campus currently used for practice fields to possibly be converted to expand our academic facility.

Last week, I was telling my wonderful sister-in-law, Sally, about our upcoming dinner. Sally is not a huge sports fan but she does know who Tony Dungy is. In our conversation, she made a statement that has stuck with me. Sally said, 
''What would it be like to be able to simply go somewhere and know you could instantly raise large amounts of money for good causes?" 
I don't know... but she's right. Coach Dungy can pick and choose his charities and they undoubtedly will all be blessed. He is instantly recognized by name and face and reputation and that recognition can pay dividends for the good works he champions, especially, we hope, Westbury Christian School. It would be hard not to have an inflated sense of self-worth to be in that unique position but Tony Dungy pulls it off. He is humble, self-effacing, and very smart. Most of us will never attain that stature but we still have our part in the good things the Lord has planned for us. Today, I performed my role well. I stood and applauded...and I did it to the best of my ability.

Applicable quote of the day:

"The first step toward creating an improved future is developing the ability to envision it. VISION will ignite the fire of passion that fuels our commitment to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to achieve excellence. Only VISION allows us to transform dreams of greatness into the reality of achievement through human action. VISION has no boundaries and knows no limits. Our VISION is what we become in life. "
Tony Dungy

God bless,

Steve

Luke 18:1

www.hawleybooks.com

E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com