Countdown to Kickoff Event (2006)

July 14 & 15, 2006 proved to be big events in Doug's life. An event called the "Countdown to Kickoff" was organized by two former UGA football players, Matt and Jon Stinchcomb. (Click here to see the promotional flier for this event.)

This event was conceived as a first-time fundraising event for three organizations:

• Georgia Transplant Foundation
• Children's Health Care of Atlanta
• UGA College of Education Dept. of Kinesiology

On Friday evening (7/14/2006), a special group of invitees participated in a auction activities at The Winery in downtown Athens. Matt Stinchcomb, a UGA alumnus and offensive tackle for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the emcee for the evening. He and his brother Jon (an offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints) began organizing the event a few months back. "We wanted to give the former players a chance to link with the players that are there now, and vice versa," said Matt.

Various people spoke at this auction event. On behalf of the Georgia Transplant Foundation, a mother spoke of her daughter's health history, having had three separate heart transplants in her young lifetime. Doug and Jermaine spoke about their experiences in the Pediatric Motor Clinic offered through the UGA College of Education's Kinesiology department. While at UGA, Jermaine had been Doug's exercise "buddy" one semester. He spoke of the friendship they forged during that time and the fun that they had together. Doug echoed those sentiments and then also said he "was very happy to have helped Jermaine become a pro." You can imagine the crowd's reaction to that statement! Doug was quite the celebrity that evening, receiving a number of gifts from the Stinchcombs, as well as Jermaine's 2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneer jersey, grass stains and all. On the jersey, Jermaine wrote, "To Doug. Thanks for all the fun memories from your biggest fan!"

The following day was a gala happening at the UGA practice football field next to the Stegman Collesium. A large number of former and current UGA football players were there to sign autographs and visit with the attendees. "We want to give the fans a chance to interact with the players a little longer than just the extent of an autograph. It takes just a few seconds to just sign a piece of paper, but we will have players interacting with the kids and fans and having family fun," Matt Stinchcomb said.

Following the festivities of this weekend, there were some articles that appeared in the local and Atlanta newspapers. I have included a copy of one that ran in UGA's student newspaper, The Red and Black. Click here to see it.

All in all, it was a terrific time for us all. The event raised over $100,000 for the three organizations. We hope that next year will bring another event, one even bigger and better than this one!