Former UGA Football Greats Giving Back to Community

Something very special will be taking place at the University of Georgia the weekend of July 16-17. It's the annual Countdown to Kickoff event benefiting several local charities including children's Health care of Atlanta, Children's Tumor Foundation, Georgia Transplant Foundation and the UGA College of Education's Pediatric Exercise and Motor Development Clinic.

This is a time when the Bulldog Nation can get up and close to their favorite players from both the 1980 National Championship Team as well as those players from more recent years. Players such as former QB David Greene, who led the Bulldogs to an SEC Championship in 2002 and a graduate of South Gwinnett High School. Matt Stinchcomb will also be there. A former All SEC lineman with the Dogs, Stinchcomb played in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and prepped at Gwinnett County's Parkview High School. "We are all from the state of Georgia and we all had the opportunity to play and attend the University of Georgia and given the experiences we had, you want to find a way to somehow contribute back to not just your school but also your state", Stinchcomb said.

It's a time when parents and their children can take part in actual football drills with the former players and get autographs from them as well. Other former Bulldog players that will be at the event include former Linebacker Rennie Curran, who was drafted this past April by the Tennessee Titans, Buck Belue (1980), Joe Cox, Garrsion Hurst, Kregg Lumpkin, as well as two other members from the 1980 team, Frank Ross and Amp Arnold. "Getting out their and being able to interact with the kids and the families, that is what this is all about", former QB David Greene said.

The Fan Festival on July 17 is open to 1,500 people and tickets are $25 a person or $75 for a family of four. Fans can order tickets by going to www.ugakickoff.com. Information in this article was obtained from the Gwinnett Daily Post newspaper.