INDIAN WELLS ROTARY Press Release
Tom Flores, 4-Time Super Bowl Champ, to be honored by Indian Wells Rotary.
Indian Wells Rotary will honor Tom Flores with its Lifetime Achievement Award at a reception to be held Thursday, February 20, between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. at the Indian Wells Golf Resort.
Few people in the history of the National Football League (NFL) have had a career like Tom Flores. He won his first Super Bowl Championship as quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, one as Assistant Coach of the Raiders, and two more as Head Coach of the Raiders.
Flores, a California native, born and raised in Fresno, CA, began his NFL football career with the Oakland Raiders in 1960, becoming the first Hispanic starting quarterback. After his playing career, Flores was an Assistant Coach with the Raiders, and in 1979 was named Head Coach. In 1980, Flores led the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XV, and by doing so, became the first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl and the first coach to take a wild card team all the way to victory in a Super Bowl.
Proceeds from this event will go to support the Indian Wells Rotary Scholarship program providing scholarships to students who would not otherwise be able to go to college. Most of these students are the first in their family to attend college, which is why Tom Flores was the ideal choice to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award.
No one understands the needs of our first in the family college students than Tom. His father came to California’s Central Valley as an Immigrant from Mexico in 1919, and Tom grew up working in the fields before playing football at Fresno City College and College of the Pacific.
“It’s not easy being first,” Flores said. “I know that from my own experience as a player and a coach, and I realize that for many of these students, they may be the first in their family to have a chance to attend college. That’s why I’m glad to help the Indian Wells Rotary Scholarship program.”
This is a great opportunity to come meet Tom Flores, one of only two people in the history of the NFL who have won a Super Bowl championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach (Mike Ditka is the other one). The award ceremony begins at 5:00 p.m., and throughout the event, the Rotary will be offering silent auction items, including some of Tom Flores’ personal memorabilia. The event is being co-sponsored by Shottenkirk Desert Lexus in Cathedral City, and Mechanics Bank in Palm Desert.
Tickets to the event are $100 each, available by calling 760 565-7270. The event takes place from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., Thursday, February 20, 2020 at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, 44500 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells, CA 92210, in the Celebrity Ballroom.
# # #
