Former Jets football player to visit Polson
A Former New York Jets football player will kickoff town hall meeting in April
He's used to sending a message to opposing linemen, but next month, he wants to send a message to local students and parents, too.
Former NFL player Dennis O'Sullivan, who spent most of his career with the New York Jets, will be the keynote speaker at a town hall meeting in Polson Thursday, April 3 at Linderman Gym at 7:30 p.m. The town hall meeting is free and open to parents and students throughout the county, and everyone is encouraged to come hear O'Sullivan speak.
O'Sullivan is a motivational speaker who works for the American Athletic Institute. He travels the country speaking to students and athletes of all ages about making positive choices, with an emphasis on the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
O'Sullivan played in the NFL from 1999 to 2005, and spent most of his career with the Jets, but also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans as an offensive and defensive lineman. He was also captain of the Tulane University football team in 1998 when they finished their season undefeated, and ranked 7th nationally.
O'Sullivan's visit is being sponsored by the Coalition for Kids and Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic, with help from the Polson and Ronan school districts. His keynote speech will kick off a town-hall meeting in which Coalition members will talk to the audience about a new grant the coalition received that aims to reduce binge drinking and drunk driving among teens and young adults throughout the county and reservation.
After O'Sullivan's talk, coalition members will explain more about the grant, but also hope to start a dialogue about how parents and students feel about alcohol use and abuse locally. Coalition members want to gather as much feedback as possible from the public over the coming months as they develop programs to address the negative impact alcohol abuse has on young adults and the population as a whole.
That Thursday, April 3, O'Sullivan will meet with Polson students throughout the day before addressing the public that night. On Friday, April 4, he'll travel to Ronan to meet with students and faculty there. Posters advertising O'Sullivan's visit will be at most local schools, and the April 3 town hall meeting at Linderman Gym is open to students and parents throughout the county.
Coalition members will spend the next three-and-a-half years examining the problem of alcohol abuse by teens and young adults at the local level, and would like to hear from parents and students alike. The town hall meeting will be the first public forum for that, in addition to allowing students and parents to hear from and meet with a former NFL standout who has devoted his life to helping people make positive choices.
For more information, contact Julie Berry or Ivy McGowan at the Coalition for Kids at 883-7316.