A Canadian Football League legend will be in town for the Okanagan Sun’s 2012 Dinner.
Four-time Grey Cup winner Damon Allen will be the keynote speaker for the third annual fund-raising event Oct. 11 at the Coast Capri Hotel.
Allen was recently elected into the CFL Hall of Fame after playing 22 seasons with six different teams—the Edmonton Eskimos (twice), Ottawa Rough Riders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Memphis Mad Dogs, B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts.
He currently sits second all time throwing 72,381 yards and is third all time rushing the ball collecting 11,920 yards. The San Diego native played 370 games, completed 5,158 passes and threw 394 touchdowns. He also rushed for 93 touchdowns on 1,766 carries.
Allen retired on May 28, 2008 and is currently working on a number of different projects including acting as the Argos special advisor to CEO Mike ‘Pinball’ Clemons.
Dinner chairman Les Weiss said Allen is a good choice to deliver the keynote address.
“Obviously with a quarterback you have a guy who was a leader throughout his career, so he’ll no doubt have a lot of interesting things to say,” said Weiss. “I think he’ll be a great speaker.”
Corporate sponsors JDS Mining and Scotiabank provide funds each year to the Sun’s scholarship program.
Between donations and the dinner itself, close to $50,000 was raised last year, with the majority going towards scholarships and the remainder for the club’s operating expenses.
The scholarship program is designed to assist Okanagan Sun players in furthering their educations at a post-secondary level, whether at UBC Okanagan, Okanagan College or trade schools.
Last season, 17 players on the Sun received financial assistance while attending post-secondary institutions.
The 2012 Sun Dinner will feature a live auction for two tickets each to the Cotton Bowl, Sugar Bowl and U.S. Open Golf Championship.
Tickets are $150 each or $1,200 for a table of eight.
For tickets or more information on the Sun Dinner, send an email to les@chemtecwest.com, or call 250-859-5603.
