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What do football legend Gale Sayers and his wife Ardie have in common with Stedman Graham, John Conley, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Metro Community College, Redstone Communications, Wells Fargo Bank, Toastmasters and the 100 Black Men of Omaha? They have all agreed to contribute in the effort to rebuild the oldest social service agency in the state of Nebraska. The Wesley House is 134 years old and was the original Omaha City Mission. It has a long history of providing relevant programs that impact the North Omaha community. The Wesley House was the incubator for many community businesses like Community Bank (now Wells Fargo), Franklin Credit Union, KOWH Radio, Omaha Economic Development Corporation, New Community Development Corporation and others. Former Omahans Gale and Ardie Sayers have agreed to give their time, talent and resources to bringing this organization back to fiscal and programmatic stability. The current focus of the Wesley House is education. “Through summer and after-school programs we promote academic excellence,” say Paul Bryant, Wesley House executive director. “We want to nurture and develop the next generation of leaders by teaching them to understand and build wealth. It is our responsibility to equip children with the tools necessary to lead in the workforce, community and in their families.” There is no better person to represent the future vision of the Wesley House than Gale Sayers. Not only is Sayers a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, he runs a successful computer company with offices in four different cities. Once named Minority Businessman of the Year, Sayers’ company has posted more than $300 million in annual revenues. Ardie Sayers has connected the Wesley House with the SNAP program. It is an international arts program that she helped develop. In its fourth year, SNAP has 200 participating schools and Wesley House is the only program in Nebraska. Students are given cameras and an opportunity to have their work become part of a traveling exhibition sponsored by the Kodak Corporation. Two special events will premier this year that bear Gale’s name. The first is the showing of the movie, “Brian’s Song” at Central High School. When this movie was released in 1971, 48 million viewers tuned in making it the most-watched made-for-television movie in history. This will be the first time the original movie has been shown on the big screen. Photographs of Gale will be available to everyone who attends and Gale will sign autographs and conduct a question-and-answer session with the audience after the movie. The second is the inaugural Gale Sayers/Wesley House Classic. This golf tournament will be held at the Players Club at Deer Creek on June 19th. This is the first in what will be an annual golf tournament bringing in athletes and celebrities. Committed players to date are Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, Heisman trophy winner Johnny Rogers, Jerry Tagge, Stedman Graham, Steve Taylor and Lawrence Pete. “We are hoping to get Marlin Briscoe, Ron Boone, Bob Boozer, Bob Gibson and other Nebraska athletes who have excelled professionally,” said Sayers. “I am committed to making a long-term commitment. We will be hosting this tournament 10 years from now.” Information is available at www.wesleyacademy.org or by calling 451-2228. |
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