GRANTS, NM - The Ty Detmer Dinner was held on Friday June 2 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event was to fundraise for the Rotary Backpack Program and Ty Detmer Youth Football League. During the event there were raffles, autographs, and a live auction. Also, during the dinner Ty Detmer was given a plaque commemorating the proclamation of Ty Detmer day on Saturday June 3, 2023.
The dinner began at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour and autographs. During this participant were able to mingle and get to know each other before the dinner. At 7 p.m. the event began with a call to order by Master of Ceremonies Steve Brown, next was the Pledge of allegiance by Incoming Rotary Club President Ric Morgan, following that was the invocation by Rotary Club Treasurer Nestor Griego, lastly there was the fourway test by Rotary Club member Jerrid Williams.
The Welcome and Introductions were announced by Rotary Club President JoAnne Martinez. During this the guests and professional players who attended the sports camps and other events were introduced. These include: Edna Campbell, who is a for- mer player in the WNBA, Jason Giambi, who is a former player in the MLB, Anthony Gordon who is a former player in the MLB, Paris Corley, who is a current player in the WTA, Kolie Allen, who is a current player in the WTA, Joey Blake, who is a former player in the ATP, Terance Mathis, who is a former player in the NFL, and finally Ty Detmer, who is a former player in the NFL as well as a Heisman Trophy winner.
Following the welcome and introductions was a keynote address by Ty Detmer, and the presentation of a plaque commemorating Ty Detmer Day which was proclaimed for Saturday June 3, 2023. The plaque was presented by the city of Grants Mayor Eric Garcia. During the keynote address, Detmer stated, “We’re so blessed with athletes that come into the community every year, taking their time. It started out with Stacey asking me to bring some people in, and now he finds people that want to come and be a part of it and want to give back to the kids, so I love the pictures of the kids having fun and enjoying it.” Detmer also spoke about Stacey Corley and his family, “You can’t give enough credit to the Corley family, what they do for the community here and what they bring to the community and the opportunity they give to the kids to be around great people and great athletes to get instructions… I’m fortunate to be a part of that.”
Detmer said, “It does take a whole community to raise kids, I mean, in today’s world it takes everybody, they need as much help as they can get from as many people that are around. I really appreciate all of you, donating to the programs for the youth.” Detmer thanked everyone for the support and the donations that are supporting the programs in the DYFL and the Rotary backpack program. Detmer ended his keynote speech stating, “We are fortunate to have a means to help in any way we can, love you guys, appreciate it, and look forward to 20 more years.”
During the dinner, two raffles were held; a 50/50 raffle where the winner would take half of the money raised, and a pie and cinnamon roll raffle. A live auction was held, some of the auction items included: A Yankees bat, ball, and cap signed by Anthony Gordon and Jason Giambi donated by Jason Giambi, a football signed by 21 Heisman trophy winners, donated by Ty Detmer, a turquoise necklace donated by Jerry Elkins, and a few others. The dinner ended with each member of the dinner getting a signed autograph by each of the professional players, and a chance to meet and take pictures with each of them.
The reasoning behind the Ty Detmer Dinner was to raise money to support the Grants-Milan Rotary Foundation Backpack program that feeds 200 children each week during the school year, as well as DYFL sports camps and safety equipment. The Ty Detmer event sponsors had 3 tiers: platinum $10,000; gold - $2,500; and silver - $1,000+. The sponsors in the platinum tier were: Cox Automotive and Ty Detmer. The sponsors in the gold tier were: Albuquerque Lincoln Mercury, Cibola General Hospital, Distinked Ink, Ed Corley Ford, Homestake Mining Company, Maldrow Group, Pridential Overall Supply, and SC3 International. The sponsors in the silber tier were: C4 Analytics, Continental Divide Electric CoOp, C Rogers, FMD CPA’s & Strategic Advisors, Rosenburg & Foutz, and Roxann Fields.