Angels In Sports held their Inaugural Fundraiser at the Queen City Yacht Club on May 17, 2013.

It was a packed house of 200 supporters from across the region to raise scholarships for young underprivileged student athletes from the Northwest’s young deserving talent.

The event started with the pleasant sounds of local musician Irae Pagofie and was hosted throughout the evening by DJ Shaun “SupaSam” Samuals from KUBE 93.3 FM and and Pat Walker formerly from KVI 570 AM.

Many sports legends had come to participate – all of them knowing how the impact of their presence would have on those who attended.

Besides seeing a galaxy of sports stars, guest we’re treated to some of Seattle’s tastiest restaurants such as Azteca, PAC Island Grill, Billy Baroo’s, Vince’s Italian, Regent Cafe and Hapa’s Catering, each who donated a portion of their offerings to the very affluent audience of sport stars, elected official and kind donors.

The evening heard from many familiar sport favorites of the past to include: Sonics Basketball Legend Slick Watts, Husky legend Sonny Sixkiller, Cougar legend Jack Thompson, Husky greats Greg Lewis, Mario Bailey and Donald Watts, Seahawk legend Manu Tuiasosopo, former Seattle Seahawks Orlando Huff, Kansas City Chief legend Dan Saleauma, Mariner greats Dave “Hendu” Henderson, Jose Cruz, former White Sox Jim Parque as well as Seattle Sounders FC great Roger Levesque.

Each sport star was able to point to different reasons for the community coming together to aid the development of some of our youth that need it the most. Some of the biggest laughs as well as agreement from the crowd were the comments that former Washington State Cougar legend Jack Thompson made (with the Husky greats in the room), “that the only thing that can bring Huskies and Cougars in the same room together is the need to help the children”. With the aid of everyone who packed themselves into the yacht club, the amount of funds to help many of our underprivileged student athletes surpassed our expectations for this inaugural event.

The evening was treated to the emotional and heartfelt stories from current and future Angels In Sports scholarship recipients. From a 16 year old girl with exceptional talent in basketball and in academics but her family (low income) cannot afford for her to play on a select team. From a 9 year old boy who’s dad has cancer and lost his job and his family could also not afford for him to play on a select football team. Each recipient will receive financial scholarships for advanced sports training, fees for select sports teams and academic assistance for tutoring services or additional academic help.

The evening closed with the results of the silent auction and the “raise the paddle” portion of the event. These auction items ranged from autographed memorabilia, to ball game tickets to hotel getaways, golf packages, to NBA jerseys and autographed shoes by NBA star Martell Webster. The best result during the event was the satisfaction and happiness felt by everyone attending the event. Although the event was for charity, the event felt more like a reunion of family – a large family of Seattle’s athletic community which has finally found a charity of their choice to support the sport and the children they love.

All of us at Angels in Sports want to thank everyone who helped make it the success that it was. We are anxiously awaiting everyone’s presence at our future events. Thank you!