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Any fan of the Washington Redskins that knows his or her team instantly recognizes the name “Joe Gibbs.” And when that name enters the mind, 99.9 percent of the time it is surrounded in the brain by respect, awe or affection. Sometimes all three feelings are present in the mind of the thinker.
This May 14th, Gibbs will be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th Annual Burgundy & Gold Banquet in order to honor his very special professional and personal accomplishments.
These successes are not trivial. The man has three NFL Super Bowl Championships to his credit as head coach of the Redskins, he owns three NASCAR Championship teams and he is a best-selling author of at least five books.
I could give you all of Gibbs’ stats in both of his beloved sports and on the sales of his books. But they can be easily accessed on the World Wide Web. What is more important here is the fact that he is also being honored for something very near and very dear to his heart… that is, the formation of his organization (he is founder and chairman) called Youth For Tomorrow (YFT).
YFT provides a safe, healthy and compassionate environment for at-risk youth in crisis who have been abandoned, abused or otherwise alienated from family and community. It provides these young people with a nurturing and loving home, rigorous education and therapeutic counseling services. Gibbs started the program in 1986 when he found himself troubled by what he learned while working with at-risk adolescents in the Washington, D.C. area on his first tour as Washington Redskins head coach. With the boys’ Courage House and the girls’ two Chelsea and Tammy Homes, troubled kids can remain safe in the program until they are 18 and 21 years old (respectively) while they are provided the opportunity to grow and learn key independent living skills.
The organization also has a Mommy and Me Home with beds for pregnant teens or teens (ages 13 to 20) with babies as well as Emergency Shelter Care for unaccompanied minors under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.
In a nutshell, the YFT program offers kids guidance and care in family reunification; and daily care and nurturing. It has a 24-hour awake staff, academic and psychological testing, medical and dental care, psychiatry and counseling (for individuals and families), a recreation program, transportation services and spiritual guidance.
Anyone who has known Gibbs — or even just known of him — should not be surprised that he created this YFT program. He is a generous, affable, deeply spiritual man… despite his reputation for throwing chairs in the locker room given a weak performance by his football team.
The event promises to be special. Super bowl XXXVII winning former head coach (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2002-2008) Jon Gruden will be the featured speaker at the banquet and will, no doubt, be extremely interesting and entertaining. This will be especially cool for Redskins fans now that his brother (Jay) is Washington’s head coach. Larry Michael, Senior VP/Executive Producer-Media of the team — a man that every Skins fan knows as the “Voice of the Washington Redskins” (as do many Cowboys, Eagles and Giants fans) — will be Master of Ceremonies. Redskins’ General Manager Bruce Allen will be there as will several Redskins alumni including Super Bowl-winning quarterback Doug Williams. Current quarterback Robert Griffin, III and other current Redskins players have confirmed their attendance that night. The entire event is chaired by Marc Andersen, International Government and Public Sector Leader, Ernst & Young, LLP.
Joe Gibbs is a man that so deserves the award with which he will be honored in a few short weeks. Not just once, but twice he was the leader that the Redskins needed to continue the dynasty that the team had become when former head coach George Allen was winning championships. He was a symbol of success for fans that brought a feeling of unity and goodwill to the D.C. area for many years. His racing teams are as much a success as his football teams were. Simply stated, the man exudes hope in whatever he does and whatever he says. His Youth For Tomorrow program has helped many, many, many youngsters that might otherwise have had the most difficult of obstacles to overcome. It’s hard to imagine that the Hall-of-Famer hasn’t gotten this particular Lifetime Achievement Award before now with as much good as he has done for this area and in his life.
Some very special folks have had heavy involvement in this year’s event and have worked extremely hard to pull off a great and important evening. These people are working hard and they believe in what they are doing — which is half the battle toward producing what promises to be a remarkable event. It’s easy to work hard when one knows that the end result is worthy.
Chairman Marc Andersen summed it up nicely:
“This is simply a labor of love,” he wrote to me, “and [it] really depends on folks just jumping in and trying to make a difference. Life is all about the difference you make for others.”
Kind of like the difference Joe Gibbs has made in the life of sports fans and teenagers all over the world.
Hail.
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Please go to the website to get more information on what is sure to be a fun and special evening for fans and sponsors alike: http://www.youthfortomorrow.org/Burgundy-and-Gold-Banquet
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