Former National Football League star quarterback Jake Plummer is the scheduled speaker for the 27th annual Gallup Rotary Banquet at Red Rock Park in February, officials confirmed. The announcement was made Oct. 26 at the weekly Gallup Rotary Club meeting.
The event is one in which scholarship awards are given out to area high school students.
“[Plummer] will be the featured speaker at our Feb. 9, 2017 affair,” Sammy Chioda, a local restaurateur and Gallup Rotary member, said. “We’re excited to host Jake Plummer.”
Chioda noted that Gallup Rotary awarded more than $33,000 to some 18 high school recipients last year. He said Gallup Rotary is set to equal or better that feat this year.
A second-round pick from Arizona State University, Plummer played for the Arizona Cardinals, the Denver Broncos, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. In 1998, Plummer started all 16 regular season games for Arizona and led the Cardinals to an upset win against the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, which was Arizona’s first post-season victory since 1947.
Chioda noted that past scholarship banquet speakers have included Lou Holtz, Bill Walton, the late Tom Landry, Drew Pearson, Mean Joe Greene, Ronnie Lott, Tom Flores, and Tim Brown, among others. He said through 2016 more than $385,000 has been awarded to area students by the Gallup Rotary Club.
Chioda said February’s affair includes a meet-and-greet, a silent auction, a dinner, and the presentation.
Since leaving the NFL in 2006, Plummer has worked as a studio analyst for the PAC-12 Network.
Rotary International is a service organization with the purpose of bringing together professional leaders to provide humanitarian services and promote peace around the world.
By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent
