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On this past Wednesday a good friend of mine and fellow Broncos alum Larry Brunson and I had the opportunity to play a round of golf with a couple of fans who had won the chance to “Golf with a Ring of Famer” through a contest at King Soopers. We played out at the Omni Interlocken Resort, which is where Coach Shanahan hosts his tournament and John Elway has done his tournament in the past. They’re also the Official Resort of the Denver Broncos. Our guests for the day were Galen Hemme and his son Joel. I’m attaching a picture of the four of us on the course. They actually won this contest last season but asked that we wait until this summer to schedule the outing.
The King Soopers is Broncos Country promotion is about to start up again for 2008 and Golf with a Ring of Famer will be a prize again so this time you could be the one to win. All you need to do is use your SooperCard when you shop there and buy items marked with Official Items of Broncos Country tags starting next month. It’s going to be items like Coca-Cola, Kraft, Oroweat, Snickers and dairy that are sponsors of the Broncos. Kraft is actually the company that makes possible the Golf with a Ring of Famer prize but you can win by buying any Broncos tagged items. There’s a different prize each week and some pretty cool and unique opportunities beyond just golf, like the chance to have your picture on the back cover of the Broncos game program. Or maybe next summer you and a guest will be my guests for a round of golf…

Hi Broncos Country!

Last week was busy around here…the first full week of training camp was well underway but we also had a lot going on in the community too!

On Tuesday, Broncos Wives: Amber Bailey, Julie Leach, Eyamide Garrett (Cecil Sapp’s fiance), Richelle Scheffler, Lana Stokley, Kallie Mustard and Kristyn Bly all gathered at the Denver Rescue Mission’s The Crossing facility to chaparone a trip for 20 youngsters residing at The Crossing to the Museum of Nature and Science and IMAX Theatre! The group departed by bus and arrived just in time to see the IMAX Film: Coral Reefs.

Following the film, the group all gathered in the museum’s cafeteria for some fun boxed lunches and a surprise visit from Miles who brought along Cold Stone ice cream for everyone! After lunch the group dispersed in small groups throughout the museum to take in all of the exhibits. What great day it was for the children of The Crossing and from the feedback of the Broncos Wives it sounded like they had just as much fun!

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Hello Broncos Country.

More exciting progress at the future Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center!  As you can see from the photos, the main registration area connecting the Broncos Boys and Girls Club to the DWMTC is framed in and the registration desk is taking shape.  With all this construction, you’d think the Club’s attendance and activity level would be low but it has been quite the opposite.

The Club has still be operating at capacity most days and just this past Wednesday night, the Club hosted its Youth of the Year dinner that honors the Youth of the Year winners and encourages the kids to take on speaking roles in the formal program.  Dinner — including a special VIP room with waiter service — is served to all of the members, staff and volunteers in attendance including our very own Billy Thompson and Domonique Foxworth.

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Last Tuesday proved to be another special holiday moment as we had our annual holiday party with the Denver Rescue Mission Crossing facility.  We adopted every room currently occupied at the Crossing and approximately 40 families were treated to an old fashioned Christmas experience–gifts, dinner and cheer!!!

My favorite moment of the evening came when a young child about 3 yrs. old all dressed up in a Christmas sweater vest was so taken with the excitment that he literally began jumping up and down with joy–to see the holiday spirit through the eyes of a child is something every adult should make a point of doing each and every year.  That is where true inspiration is born.

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Tuesday, Oct. 16 marked our annual NFL Hometown Huddle program in partnership with Mile High United Way.  This year’s joint service project focused on kids’ fitness as part of the NFL Play :60 campaign, encouraging children to get at least 60 minutes of exercise in per day.

Tuesday was a perfect day for this.  The skies were blue, the sun was shining and about 120 kids from Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver were raring to go as the Broncos and United Way introduced them to the fundamentals of football.

Players Brian Clark, Chris Myers, Domonique Foxworth and Brandon Marshall joined Ring of Fame Member Billy Thompson in hosting five different stations of the Gatorade Junior Training Camp, with each running a station that presented a different football skill for the kids to practice while getting exercise at the same time.

Brandon Marshall had his kids doing the infamous touchdown dance of their choosing after completing his drills.  Will we see any of these dance renditions from Brandon on Sunday?  He saw a lot of good material from which to choose.

The day was capped off by decadent ice cream treats from Cold Stone for all who participated.  That may not exactly support the primary health and fitness message for the day, but it sure brought smiles to the kids’ faces and supported the notion that life is all about balance.

Wow!  What a game on Sunday!!  It is so exciting to come away from such a close, road game with a win and what a great way to start out the season!  Go Broncos!

Now that the regular season is officially underway, we have some more exciting news to share.  Next Tuesday, September 18th from 5am-9am KOA will be broadcasting their morning radio show live from the future site of the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center (just adjacent to the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club) in Montbello as a kickoff event for the new Teen Center.

We will be inviting the community to have stop by and have breakfast with us, the KOA crew and a handful of Broncos players who will be on-air all morning long!  Broncos players and Ring of Fame Member Billy Thompson will be on hand to talk about the future Teen Center and discuss the positive impact it will have on the youth of the Montbello community.  Teen members from the Club will be featured and will provide their hopes and goals for their new Teen Center.  Community members interested in supporting the project can visit:

www.positiveplacedenver.org/ (Click on the DONATE tab)

The Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center is the long-lasting and impactful way the Denver Broncos have chosen to memorialize Darrent’s legacy and provide positive alternatives to young people.  The Teen Center will be open in early 2008 and host teenage members of the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club providing them with a space to learn, socialize and call their own while addressing the over-crowding issues currently plaguing the existing Club.

Stay tuned to DenverBroncos.com and KOA for more information–we look forward to seeing or hearing from you all next Tuesday!

Starting bright and early this past Saturday, 10 youth football teams (ages 12-14) from across the state all made the trip to INVESCO Field at Mile High to play in the fourth annual Broncos Bowl.  Broncos Bowl is our youth football celebration where teams from as far as Grand Junction scrimmage one another and experience a real Broncos game day atmosphere.

Mike Rice of KOA along with the Broncos’ own Rick Seifert called the play-by-play and a crew from Comcast was on hand running Thundervision and providing instant replay!  Teams all received gifts from Powerade who sponsored the Powerade Skills Challenge for kids simultaneously with the Broncos Bowl games—cool stuff like sideline coolers and water bottles.  Even a big banner with their team’s name on it!

Broncos Ring of Famer Billy Thompson and Broncos and CU alum Larry Brunson were on hand all day as honorary captains offering their encouragement to each team.  All of the days’ participants are invited back to the Broncos home game against the Cleveland Browns on August 25 to be recognized on field at halftime—look for them if you plan on attending the game.

The second game of the day featured Mesa County Junior Football from Grand Junction against the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club and proved to be the most exciting game of the day!  With the score all tied up and just seconds remaining, Mesa County Junior Football’s running back broke through the defensive line of the Broncos Boys and Girls Club breaking tackles as he sprinted past the goal line.  Touchdown!  With no time remaining on the clock Mesa County Junior Football goes ahead by six and wins the game!  They were ecstatic!  And unfortunately the Broncos Boys and Girls Club was crushed.  As fun as it was to see the smiling, exuberant faces of Mesa County it was equally difficult to see the disappointment in the faces of the Broncos.

Do you remember a time you lost or won a big game!?

It all started with a letter I received on June 8th 2006. The letter read: My name is Brenda Eyman. I live in Chama New Mexico.  My dad is (Billy Eyman) he is a die hard Broncos fan and recently they discovered that he had liver cancer. In November 2005 my dad fell off a roof during a regular work day and that was when he started feeling ill.  After numerous doctors visits he was diagnosed with liver cancer in March of this year. On April 26th, 2006 the doctor in Albuquerque, New Mexico told us that the cancer had taken over ¾ of his liver and that my dad didn’t have long to live and there wasn’t anything more they could do and sent him home. We have taken him to Denver, Colorado for a second opinion at University of Colorado Hospital/Cancer Center and so far everything sounds better than here in New Mexico.

I was wondering if there would be any way that some of the Broncos team members or Alumni might be interested in meeting my dad while he is in Denver. He is receiving treatment through University of Colorado Hospital /Cancer Center on 9th street in Cherry Creek. He has gone to almost every home game for several years. He decorates his house with all the Broncos items for every game we watch at home. This would be greatly appreciated if there was something you could do. Meeting some of the players would make his dream come true…Family has always come first to our dad. Every year when the new schedule comes out he asks who wants to go see a game this year. Being there are four daughters, he tries to get us to go at different times. He has had a hard year and we just want the best for him. If we don’t get very much time with him we would like the time that we do have with him to be the best memories ever.

After reading Brenda’s letter I was sort of spellbound wanting to meet her dad. I could feel the love she had for her dad and was reaching out to do anything to make him happy. We get tons of letters requesting various things but this one just stayed with me. I had to call Brenda back and talk to her.

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Sherman County is located in northwest Kansas and is at the crossroads of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 27. Bordering Colorado on the west approximately 32 miles from Nebraska on the north and bordering the Central time zone on the east. Sherman County comprises of 1,055 square miles. The population of Goodland according to the 2000 Census is 4,984 and Sherman County 6,780. A dry climate, Sherman County averages 19.76” of moisture per year with 32.7” of snow fall. Average temperatures range from high of 39 degrees to a low of 15.8 degrees in January to a high of 89.9 degrees to a low of 61.1 degrees in July.

So I guess you may ask why have the Denver Broncos Alumni and the Kansas City Chiefs Alumni met in Goodland for three days in June for the past five years? We call it the Border War…Since the 1960s the Chiefs and the Broncos have been competing on the field but for this event we come together to support Rural Health Care. “The Slice of Life” Benefit Auction and golf tournament.

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Billy Thompson and I had the privilege to watch Teandra Conley (TiTi) graduate from Montbello High School Sunday afternoon after watching her grow and blossom into a wonderful young lady. TiTi has been a member of the Broncos Boys and Girls Club since its doors opened in August of 2003. She has shown incredible leadership as she has gone through her high school career and established her role at the Broncos Club, participating in Lynch’s Leaders, winning the Club’s senior Youth of the Year Award, and mentoring many young members along the way. She has received many scholarships for college, including one from the Daniel’s Fund and one from the Kenard Lang Foundation. She will put them all to good use as she heads to Tuskegee University this fall to make more of her dreams come true. I am honored to know her and as proud of her as if she were my own daughter.

Congratulations, TiTi, from all of us at the Broncos!