The Kiwanis Club of Brainerd Foundation announced the Third Annual “One Child at a Time Luncheon” to be held on Tuesday at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Imperial Ballroom beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The Foundation through Community Service Grants and Projects supports children and non-profit agencies which impact the lives of children in the community. To date, the Foundation has provided support to over 70,000 children in the area. Funds for the Foundation are mainly raised through the luncheon and the Annual Barbeque held each year in July. In 2014-2015 alone over $30.000 has been raised and awarded .
The Kiwanis Club of Brainerd Foundation has also chartered and supports two Key Clubs at Boyd Buchanan High School and Brainerd High School, and two K Kids Clubs at Hickory Valley Christian School and Woodmore Elementary School. These clubs provide service leadership opportunities for kids of all ages.
This year, Electric Power Board of Chattanooga is supporting the “One Child at a Time Luncheon” as the Title Sponsor. Limited Corporate sponsor packages and general admission tickets can be purchased online at www.mkt.com/ocaat.
The Keynote Speaker for the Luncheon will be Alberto R. Gonzales. Judge Gonzales served as the 80th Attorney General of the United States from 2005-2007. President George W. Bush appointed Judge Gonzales to lead the Department of Justice, stating that “Al has been a model of courage and character to his fellow citizens. I’ve witnessed his integrity, his decency, his deep dedication to the cause of justice. Now he will advance that cause as the Attorney General and ensure that more Americans have the opportunity to achieve their dreams.”
Judge Gonzales was born to a Catholic family in San Antonio, Texas. Of Mexican descent, he was the second of eight children born to Maria (Rodriguez) and Pablo M. Gonzales. His father, who died in 1982, was a migrant worker and then a construction worker with a second grade education. His mother worked at home raising eight children and had a sixth grade education. Gonzales and his family of ten lived in a small, two-bedroom home built by his father and uncles with no telephone and no hot running water. According to Judge Gonzales, he is unaware whether immigration documentation exists for three of his grandparents who were born in Mexico and who, like Judge Gonzales and his family, were poor and uneducated and thus may have entered and resided in the United States illegally from Mexico or they may have entered and resided legally.
Before entering public service, Judge Gonzales practiced business law for 13 years at the Houston law firm of Vinson & Elkins. In 1995, he resigned his law partnership to serve as General Counsel to the Governor of Texas. After three years, the Governor appointed Judge Gonzales as Texas Secretary of State. He was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 1999 and elected by the citizens of Texas to serve a full six-year term in the November 2000 general election. He served in the White House as Counsel to the President from 2001-2005.
Judge Gonzales is an Air Force veteran, and attended the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is a graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School. Presently he is dean and Doyle Rogers Distinguished Professor of Law at Belmont University College of Law.
For more information about the luncheon or corporate sponsorship, contact: Sandy Maddox at sandymaddox@bellwetherinv.com.