The After-School All-Stars North Texas non-profit invariably seems to draw a healthy crowd to its yearly Rising Stars Luncheon. This year’s 7th annual edition of the luncheon on Wednesday, March 27, kept up the tradition — and then some.
The 2024 event at Brook Hollow Golf Club lured around 250 to enjoy the club’s famous pecan-crusted chicken and a keynote Q&A with Micah Parsons, the Dallas Cowboys’ star linebacker. The attendance was up some from last year’s luncheon, which featured former Dallas Maverick Dirk Nowitzki.
How come? “The board is really engaged this year,” offered Chloe Leal, who’s with the nonprofit’s development team. Also bolstering the turnout this year, she added, was 2024 Champion Award winner Mary Silverman, the non-profit’s popular advisory board vice chair.
At the pre-lunch reception, where photo-ops with Micah could be had, Cindy and Chuck Gummer and Gina Betts (she was last year’s Champion Award winner) with her son Jack were among the guests who turned out to support ASAS. The organization, which provides comprehensive, cost-free after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed, will serve 800 local middle schoolers this year.
Chuck said he didn’t have his photo taken with Micah, because “I didn’t want to break the camera.”
The luncheon, chaired by Kristin Hallam, kicked off with a welcome by ASAS Executive Director Justin Hensley. In no time he was presenting the Champion Award to Mary, who Justin said had been a tireless worker on behalf of After-School All-Stars ever since joining the group’s board in 2016.
Mary helped the organization survive a tornado, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a leadership change at the top, Justin said. “She rolled up her sleeves, she cleared calendars, she got to work.”
Accepting the award, Mary graciously deflected attention from herself and thanked the ASAS board and staff. “I was proud to be side by side with you,” she said. “You and your staff really care about the kids, and the kids know it. And from that comes all success, self-esteem, goals, career aspirations, friendships. I’m really happy to go along for the ride.”
After a video was played explaining ASAS, guests heard from student speaker Sarahi Florence. Sarahi said she and her friends have come to appreciate After-School All-Stars, even though she wasn’t initially excited about attending the program when her mother signed her up. Now, though, “we felt like it was a safe space where we could just be ourselves,” she said.
With that, it was time for the featured Q&A between WFAA Main Sports Anchor Joe Trahan and Micah, who was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. He quickly proved the wisdom of the pick by being named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year following the ’21 season.
Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
- Micah recalled growing up as a standout athlete in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a small city where “everybody knew everybody.” But playing varsity football in high school during his freshman year, he wanted to be a running back rather than a linebacker or defensive end. When his coaches initially resisted the idea, Micah said he thought, “I don’t know if I want to play this anymore, if they won’t let me do what I want to do.” His hard-working mother, however, had a different view. ” ‘No,’ Micah remembers her telling him, ‘you started it, you’ve got to finish it.’ She was always like that. She never let me quit anything.” Micah continued on the team and, within mere months, received a scholarship offer from Penn State — at the age of 15. “It’s testimony to, like, you never know what’s really meant for you,” Micah said, crediting his mother for advising him to persevere.
- Joe said he’s been doing TV sports in Dallas for 21 years, but obviously has never been able to report on the Cowboys winning an NFL championship. “I just want to feel it, I want to see it, because I know it’s going to be the most incredible thing ever, right?” he said. Then he turned to Micah and asked, “With that said, what do you think it’s going to take to get over that playoff hump — for you guys to play your best when those games matter most?” “Just taking care of your body — we need everyone to dial in,” Micah replied. “One thing about team sports is, it can’t just be all about ‘me.’ There’s something about team sports when you have to work together. Whether it’s business, or it’s life, or a project, when you have to work together and you get that outcome that you want, it becomes a forever bond with the people around you. There’s a brotherhood. So I would just say, everyone dial in — no individuals, no I’s — and you can deal with it.”
* Photo credit: Melissa Macatee
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