Support KCKCC Track and Field at “A Night with the Olympians”

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- More than one dozen Olympic track and field athletes will be coming to Kansas City Kansas Community College next month to help raise funds for the college’s track and field program.

KCKCC Coach Al Hobson is presenting “A Night with the Olympians.” The event, which includes a silent auction, is at 7 p.m. Dec. 13 on the KCKCC campus, 7250 State Ave.

General seating is $1,000 per table and $1,500 per table to be seated with one of the celebrity athletes.

Individual tickets are also available for $50 each. This is a fundraiser for the KCKCC track and field program to help with scholarships as well as travel, and all donations are tax deductible.

The day before “A Night with the Olympians,” there will be a second event. “The John Carlos Experience” is at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Gem Theatre, 1616 E. 18th St. in Kansas City, Mo. Tickets are $20 or VIP tickets are $70.

The VIP package includes a private reception with Carlos and a commemorative T-shirt. Proceeds will benefit KCKCC Track and Field and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

“This is a great fundraising opportunity for our Track and Field program,” said Tony Tompkins, director of athletics at KCKCC. “Coach Hobson has had a positive impact on many of athletes in the Kansas City, Kan. community and across the nation. It is great to see the support of so many elite athletes coming to our college to support a great man.”

Among the athletes that will be attending are:

• Dr. John Carlos – a former track and field athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. His Black Power salute on the podium, along with American Tommie Smith, caused political controversy.

• Maurice Green – a Kansas City, Kan. native and retired sprinter who specializes in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He won four Olympic medals and is a five-time World Champion.

• Muna Lee - a sprinter who won gold at the 2005 World Championships as part of the women’s 4x100m relay team.

• Justin Gatlin – a sprinter who has won five Olympic medals, including Olympic gold in the 100 meters in 2004 as well as two world championships.

• Greg Foster – a retired hurdling athlete, who has won three world championships and a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics.

• LaShawn Merrit – a track and field athlete who won two Olympics Gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games and has won six world championships.

• David Oliver – is a hurdling athlete who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing games and most recently won gold at the 2013 World Championships.

• Carmelita Jeter – a sprinter who earned three medals at the 2012 London Games, including one gold. She has also won three world championships.

Other athletes that will be in attendance include Mark Jelks, a former KCKCC student athlete; Brittany Borman; Dexter Faulk and Rae Edwards.

Hobson, who has been the head track coach at KCKCC since the mid-1990s, is a renowned track coach, serving as a member of the Nike Olympian Development Team. Many of the athletes participating in the fundraising events have been coached by Hobson.

“It feels great that people think enough of me to come back,” he said. “This is the first year we have done this event, so I feel honored that so many want to participate.”

For more information, contact Clarence Cadenhead at 816-985-2433 or by email at cbcadenhead@gmail.com. For information on donations contact Dawanna Fangohr, KCKCC Endowment Association, at 913-288-7675 or dfangohr@kckcc.edu. Information is also available at www.alhobsonkckcc.org.