 Retired at such a young age
University of Washington Offensive Lineman Danny Shelton recently earned Academic All-American first team honors. He is a senior, and has had an amazing career as a Husky. He is the first Husky football player to earn this honor since 1991! Danny graduated from Auburn High School in 2010 and was named as a 4A first team All-State Offensive and Defensive Lineman by Associated Press. His list of awards and honors is impressive, but his story is even more so.
On Friday morning, Danny returned to AHS to talk with the students. He shared his struggles in grade school, middle school and high school with getting into fights, and also shared the support and love he received from his mom and family. In 2011, he lost his older brother Shennon, and that tragedy could have sent Danny in the wrong direction. As he told students, he wanted to succeed in spite of the struggles and sadness. He wanted to be the best at his school, then in his city, then at his college, state, and ultimately in the nation. He’s accomplished that, and he wants to share his story to inspire others to succeed. His family was in attendance, and the students were thrilled when Danny received an AHS football jersey with his number 71. The school has decided to retire his number in honor of his success and dedication! It was an honor to be there in the stands and hear from a young man who most likely will have another life changing year in 2015 with the NFL draft. When asked what he will do after drafted, he replied “I’ll ask my mom where she wants her new house to be.” How cool is that? Auburn is proud of you, Danny!
 Go Hawks!
It seems like football was a theme this week. On Wednesday, I was honored to attend an event at the VMAC (Seahawk training facility in Renton) to review the work of the YMCA’s Alive & Free program. The YMCA's alive and free program strives to support and empower young adults to prevent and recover from violence and pursue their true potential. Since 1999 the staff has served eight thousand Seattle area youth and has reduced risk factors for their participants. The program achieves this by responding to major incidents of violence involving youth, providing on-scene support and post incident follow up to prevent retaliation, and coordinating safety and staffing for major community events to help prevent violence. The YMCA's Alive and Free program recognizes and treats violence as a public health issue and is working to help youth and young adults replace high-risk behavior with positive life skills through community involvement. Auburn is one of four cities (Kent, Renton & Tukwila) that provide financial support for this program. Coach Carroll’s “A Better Seattle” is also a partner, and that’s what brought the mayors and police officers to the VMAC. We received an update on the program, met the amazing outreach team, and then…..we were allowed on the indoor practice field to watch the last half hour of practice as our Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks prepared for Sunday’s game against San Francisco.
To share one of the local successes of Alive & Free: A student at an Auburn Middle School, Jerome was having difficulty in school and at home. He would have regular violent outbursts and was beginning to experiment with illegal drugs. His family life was unstable; his mom’s involvement in criminal activity meant that she was often in jail and not able to look out for him. Alive & Free stepped in to help Jerome complete his court commitments and stay out of jail. Jerome’s Outreach Worker helped him connect with services to address his drug use and anger. Having an Outreach Worker’s support was instrumental in Jerome’s ultimate decision to enter a treatment facility, where he is now getting the support he needs to make lasting change.
 We celebrated the amazing career of Pat Bailey, Director of Operations & Support Services, this week, and wished her well as she retired from MultiCare Auburn Medical Center. Pat’s career has spanned 36 years, and the Rainier Room at the Truitt Building was standing room only as we shared stories of compassion, dedication and the ability to get things done as they relate to Pat. We presented Pat with the “Local Hometown Hero Award” for her efforts to partner with the City and her efforts to focus on the health and well-being of the people of Auburn. She will be missed by so many as she begins this new chapter in her life, and I wish her every happiness!
What would you do?
As we begin to look to the new year, I would like to know what you believe the priorities of this City should be. Please share your thoughts and ideas!
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