March 19, 2008
Sims to honor Paul Robeson Scholar-Athletes
21st annual ceremony praises achievements of tomorrow’s leaders
The academic achievements of more than 800 student athletes will be celebrated at the 21st annual Paul Robeson Scholar-Athlete Awards. Boys and girls ranging from kindergarteners to sophomores in high school will be given trophies in honor of their accomplishments in the classroom while they also participate in sports or dance. The student athletes maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better for the entire school year.
The award is named after Robeson (1898-1976), an internationally acclaimed African American singer, actor, athlete and scholar who was the third African American to graduate from Columbia University Law School. The awards program was co-founded by King County Executive Ron Sims and Lt. Ronald Sylve of the Seattle Police Department (retired) when the two were coaching youth football.
"I look forward to honoring an accomplished and motivated group of young achievers," said Sims. "This program aims to nurture and celebrate students who have found a healthy balance between their academic studies and their athletic and dance activities. Being exceptional athletes or dancers is a great accomplishment, but if our youth are also academically driven to succeed their potential is infinite."
Bobby Engram, a wide receiver with the Seattle Seahawks, will be the guest speaker. In the 2007 regular season, Engram set a club record with a career-high 94 receptions, and a career high with 1,147 yards. Engram ranked 4th in the NFC (11th NFL), just four off the NFC lead with 94 receptions and 6th in the NFC (13th NFL) with 1,147 yards, the most for Seahawks since Darrell Jackson's 1,199 in 2004. Recognized for his achievements on the field and his on-going work in the community, Engram was named the 2007 Seahawks Man of the Year.
The ceremony will take place:
Thurs., March 20, 2008
5 p.m. – Doors open for registration of recipients
6 p.m. – Ceremony program
Qwest Field Event Center
"In our first year, we honored 23 Seattle students in the basement of a local church," said Sims. "With the success of the program over the past 21 years, we have honored nearly 10,000 students countywide."
This year's honorees come from schools throughout King County and participate in local sports and dance organizations including Capitol Hill Soccer Association, Magnolia Soccer Club, Magnolia Little League Baseball, Montlake-Madrona Seattle Baseball Pony League, Mount Baker/Lakewood Soccer, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Queen Anne Soccer Association, Seattle Asian Sports Club, Seattle Chinese Athletic Association, Tukwila Blazers Youth Basketball, Tukwila Youth Basketball League, WA Hurricanes Fast pitch Softball Association, and White Water Aquatics Swim Club.
Paul Robeson was a man who overcame race and became one of the most accomplished, driven and multi-talented African Americans in history. Robeson was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and valedictorian at Rutgers University who spoke and wrote more than 20 languages. Robeson graduated with honors from Columbia Law School.
As an athlete, Robeson was a star baseball catcher, a stellar basketball player and coach, one of the first African Americans to be named an All-American in college football and one of the first African Americans to play and star in professional football. An individual with an astonishing list of achievements, Robeson used his fame to advance the cause of civil rights.
"Here in Martin Luther King Jr. County we honor a great man in African American history as we honor our youth and the promise they hold as tomorrow's leaders," said Sims. With strong minds our youth can have a profound impact in their communities, this country and the world."
This year's Paul Robeson Scholar-Athlete Award ceremony is sponsored by Seattle Sonics/Storm Foundation; Qwest Communications; KeyBank; Moneytree, Inc.; Pacific Raceways, Inc.; Seattle Seahawks; Wells Fargo; and the Seattle Home Show.