Life lessons topic of Boys & Girls club event

By Bennie Scarton Jr.

Published: May 20, 2008

"Building a successful life and building a winning football team have much in common," Ken Harvey, retired linebacker for the Washington Redskins, told the gathering at the 19th annual Steak "N" Steak Dinner for the benefit of the Prince William County Boys & Girls Clubs.

In both cases, he said, a fundamental, solid foundation is needed.

"You have got to have a vision of where you are going, you have to train hard and have dedication, you have to work hard, you shouldn't waste time and you need the right attitude and you should always want to give back and help others," Harvey said as steps to

becoming successful both as an individual and as a football player.

He added: "If you give everything you can, you will be successful—that anything is possible if first you apply the foundation that is the stepping stone to becoming a good leader."

Harvey stressed that to become successful, a person needs to be proactive.

"Don't wait for that what you want to come to you. If you see something in front of you that you want, go after it."

Harvey also noted that having the right attitude and being teachable is also important.

"Keep a smile on your face," he said. "Wake up every morning with a smile and tell yourself 'this is a great country I'm living in.' "

Most of all, Harvey said to be successful in life takes hard work. "The more you do it, the better you will be."

Another point he stressed was, "Don't forget where you came from. If you become successful, help out other people and give everything you can and before you know it, fundamentals learned in football can be applied to everyday life." He said it was true in his case.

Harvey was recently named as one of the Redskins' 70 greatest players. He is a four-time Pro Bowler (1994-97) and was the first Redskin to lead the NFC in sacks, with 13.5 during the 1994 season. He finished with 89 career sacks. He currently works for Ikoya, a Virginia-based television and film production company. He speaks on sports, motivation, leadership issues, teamwork and children's issues.

Nick Champeau, vice president of Eastern Automotive Group, served as the emcee for the evening. Others on the program were Fletcher Moore, 14, who gave the Pledge of Allegiance; Derek Branch, 18, who sang the National Anthem; and Steven Williams, 16, who gave the invocation. The Hylton Branch Step Team also performed,

The presentation of awards and recognition was one of the highlights of the session taking place at the Hylton Branch in Dale City.

The top award of the night went to John Walvius, who was presented the Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Silver Medallion for his outstanding work with the clubs.

Other award recipients were:

• Annual Partnership Award—City of

Manassas.

• G. Richard Pfitzner Award—Supervisor John Jenki

• Friend of Youth Award—Dale Browne, SWIFT

• Outback Steakhouse Award—Maurice Breveard, maintenance director for Boys & Girls Clu

• Community Development Award—Easterns Automotive Grou

• Betty Covington's Educators Award—Gary Anderson, principal at Graham Park

• Volunteer Service Award—Anne Kreutzer

• Golden Boy Award—Mitchell Colston, Prince William Boys & Girls Clubs Board president

• Helping Hands Award—Kelley Wibley, Best Buy

• John Walvius Eagle Award—BB&T Bank

• From the Heart Award—Lynn Irvin, Cruise Holiday

• Golden Girl Award—Supervisor Maureen Caddiga

• Marion Wall 1866 Club Award—Rep. Tom Davi

• 40 Years of Service Special Recognition—Marion Wall, who was presented a Redskins jersey with his name on the back for his decades of service.

The evenings festivities closed with Kevin Dowdell, acting CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, thanking the gathering "for supporting the Boys & Girls Clubs in such a wonderful way.