By Staff
KALAMAZOO - Stacy Brown and his family had the good fortune to meet National Football League and former Michigan State standout TJ Duckett at the second annual Safe Summer kickoff at Mayor's Riverfront Park on Tuesday, June 14.
Brown, a 1991 graduate of Dowagiac Union High School, is also a former member of the Chieftains' state championship football team. He was surprised by Duckett's size and hospitality.
Sawyer Brown, a 10-year-old student at McKinley Elementary School, asked Duckett many questions and by the end of the dialogue was given a nickname by Duckett - Sparty.
His seven-year-old brother Travis enjoyed his interaction with the members of the Western Michigan University football team which were on hand as well as with Duckett.
Stacy Brown was informed well in advance of Duckett's visit to Kalamazoo as well as the time and place by Dowagiac native Chris Hodshire.
Hodshire is working on his graduate degree at the University of Michigan. Hodshire, who is working part-time as a Constitute Assistant Director for the office of Kalamazoo City Commissioner Don Cooney, informed Brown of and his former church - Victory Tabernacle - of Duckett and the Broncos' visit, which Hodshire partially helped link to the event.
The purpose of the Safe Summer event is to give youth an opportunity to play recreational sports, while at the same time, interacting with positive sports celebrities.
The event was also to encourage youth to find alternatives for the summer other than hanging out on the streets.
At the Duckett event there were rockwall climbing, slides, a water dunk tank, 3-on-3 basketball competition, bands, tae kwon do martial arts teams and many other activities.
Duckett, a Kalamazoo native, invests his own time, money and energy into the Kalamazoo community every year.
The Western Michigan University Broncos, under new head coach Bill Cubit, also plans to keep the football team strongly active in the Kalamazoo neighborhoods, particularly with youth, through a variety of volunteer work activities.