I went to lunch last Friday with a long-time friend of mine, David Pendergrass.
We are both graduates of West Phoenix High School and Arizona State University. We both attended those schools at the same time. In high school, I ran track and cross country and Dave played football.
My track days pretty much ended at the high school level, but Dave went on to play as a defensive lineman at ASU for legendary coach Frank Kush.
David and I were very pleased that another defensive lineman from those years, Curley Culp, was inducted into the National Football League’s Hall of Fame this year.
As fierce a competitor you would ever find on the field, you could not meet anyone nicer off the field than Curley. When he smiled, you couldn’t help but smile with him.
Something I learned Friday at lunch was that David was Curley’s campaign manager for Homecoming King in 1968.
Curley won to no one’s surprise. But I asked David if he had any other political campaign aspirations after being victorious in the first campaign that he managed.
“No, I guess I never gave it another thought.” he said.
After college, David joined the army with an ROTC commission and retired several years ago as a major.
Since then he has worked as a personal coach and has volunteered his time for several noteworthy causes. He is currently volunteering at the Child Crisis Center in Mesa.
The facility has been open since 1981, and works to prevent and treat abuse and neglect of children. They currently have beds for 42 children.
David said children who have been abused and/or neglected are brought in from all over the Valley, including several from Fountain Hills. It provides services that protect and help children heal when families are struggling. They find compassionate supportive homes for children that need them and strengthen families and minimize stress in their lives.
As a volunteer at the Child Crisis Center, Dave knows the value that is produced by providing a safe shelter to children who have been abused and neglected.
As he sees it, “It is our honorable legacy to help those who cannot help themselves. And when these children become adults, they will hopefully become compassionate and healthy people as a result of the life affirming treatment they received at the Center.”
Dave has another passion -- climbing mountains.
He has climbed most of the peaks in Arizona. Now he is combining his two passions as a major challenge for himself. He is planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in September, the African continent’s tallest mountain.
He is using the climb as a fund-raiser for the Child Crisis Center. He is seeking donations and he said all of the money collected will go to the center. He is covering his own expenses.
For companies he will do special promotions from the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
His fund-raising website is http//www.razoo.com/story/CLIMB–A-MOUNTAIN-HELP-A-CHILD.
You can follow his training progress on his facebook pages: Facebook.com/climbkili and facebook.com/DavidPendergrass2.
