A celebration for the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts at Wofford College was held Saturday night in Spartanburg, S.C. The event was co-hosted by Panthers Owner JERRY RICHARDSON and his wife, ROSALIND, and included family and friends. The 67,000-square-foot facility will house the college’s theatre and visual arts programs and includes a 300-seat performance hall (the Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre) along with a museum and a student gallery. The facility also includes two commissioned sculptures by renowned artist DALE CHIHULY. Jerry Richardson, a Wofford graduate and member of the college’s BOT, provided the gift for the center in honor of his wife’s commitment and dedication to the arts. Ground was broken on the facility almost two years to the day of Saturday’s celebration -- May 12, 2015 (THE DAILY).
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| A three-foot-tall Harbaugh bobblehead was auctioned for $1,650 |
THE GOOD STUFF: A charity dinner at the Univ. of Michigan’s Glick Family Fieldhouse on Saturday “raised $1,025,000 with some receipts still being counted.” The silent auction and raffle items for the Champions for Change gala dinner for the ChadTough Foundation, which included a UM football coach JIM HARBAUGH bobblehead and UM men’s basketball coach JOHN BEILEIN’s famous Super Soaker, "kept pushing the total higher.” Money raised went towards efforts to “combat pediatric cancer” (FREEP.com, 5/14). The gala was “star-studded” and Detroit Free Press columnist MITCH ALBOM and his wife JANINE, who cared for a child from Haiti with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, were “honored with the ChadTough Spirit Award” (FREEP.com, 5/13).
BOOK SHELF: Basketball HOFer KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR appeared on “CBS This Morning” today to promote his new book, “COACH WOODEN AND ME,” which CBS’ Gayle King said is “shedding new light on his relationship with one of the best coaches in basketball history,” former UCLA coach JOHN WOODEN. Abdul-Jabbar said Wooden wanted to “use basketball as a means to have an influence on young men and show them how to live their lives” ("CBS This Morning," 5/15). Meanwhile, former MLBer DAVID ORTIZ appeared on ABC's "GMA" to promote the release of his autobiography, "PAPI: MY STORY" ("GMA," ABC, 5/15).
MAKING HER MARK: Ninety-four-year-old Charlotte resident HARRIETTE THOMPSON is attempting to finish the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in San Diego next month, and if she does so, she will become the "oldest woman ever to complete a 13.1 mile race." Competitor Group PR Dir DAN CRUZ said that Thompson will be a "featured guest at meet-and-greet sessions at the race expo." They are also "designating a special 'Hariette Corral' so participants who'd like to walk with her can gather before the start of the massive race, which is expecting roughly 28,000 participants for its 20th anniversary" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/12).
NAMES: PRESIDENT TRUMP on Saturday “took time during his commencement address” at Liberty Univ. to welcome Pro Football HOFer JIM KELLY. Kelly, “who was at Liberty for his daughter ERIN’s graduation, is a longtime friend” of Trump (BUFFALO NEWS, 5/14)....Former MLBer DOUG DECINCES was "convicted Friday of insider-trading," following a two-month trial in which he was "accused of illegally using non-public information from a CEO friend to net" $1.3M. DeCinces was found "guilty of 14 felony counts." Each count "carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison." A sentencing date "has not been set" (OCREGISTER.com, 5/12)....Orioles CF ADAM JONES was at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in K.C. on Saturday to announce his $20,000 "donation to the shrine." He said that the "recent racial taunting he endured in Boston" was something he "still grapples with" (AP, 5/13)....Longtime UFC matchmaker JOE SILVA has been named to the UFC HOF class for '17 as a contributor (UFC)....Indiana Univ. paid an Atlanta-based search firm "at least $90,000" for its assistance in hiring men's basketball coach ARCHIE MILLER in March (INDYSTAR.com, 5/12).
IN MEMORY: Former MLB Umpire Supervisor STEVE PALERMO “died of cancer” on Saturday at the age of 67. Royals manager NED YOST said, “He’s somebody we’re going to really, really miss.” Palermo was named Special Assistant to The Chair of the Major League Exec Council in ’94, and in ’00 moved into his supervisor role (K.C. STAR, 5/15).
