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AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 22, 2012Garrett BronkenGary QuinnChuck ScharerTerri UpshawSTATELINE, NEVADA THE MODERATOR: This is the fourth year in a row that we've made this presentation. It's one of the nicest things we do during the week, quite frankly. It's fun to have a commemorative event for Gene Upshaw, one of our favorites who played here for many years. And I would like to turn it over‑‑ let me introduce the folks on your panel. First you're going to see Gary Quinn in the back right, Senior Director of Programming from NBC Sports. To his right is Chuck Scharer, President and CEO of Edgewood Companies. And front left, Terri Upshaw. Thank you for being here. And front right, our winner, congratulations, Garrett Bronken. Way to go. Gary, a little on the background on how the award came into being and your involvement with NBC, and we'll turn it over to Chuck and Terri. And we'll save Garrett for last. GARY QUINN: Thank you, everybody, for coming. It's become one of my favorite moments of event week, because it gives us the opportunity to revisit the great attributes of a good friend, a great friend of the tournament and a wonderful leader during his playing days and afterwards. And also to give a little bit of an assist to a very deserving young man who is about to start his college career. We created this upon Gene's passing four years ago because we wanted to ensure that his legacy lived on. And so for as many years as this tournament's going to go on, we want people in this community to remember what a great community member Gene was and what a great leader he was during his career. And I just can't say enough about what he meant to us. He was always so helpful. He had run some golf tournaments for the NFL PA. He always tried to help me. I was at the time a pee‑on at this thing, and he would always come up and say: How can we help you? And always so giving of himself. And I will never forget that. It's one of the reasons that we're so proud of this scholarship, because we want folks like Garrett, who probably didn't know who Gene was, to have to research: Hey, what does it take to be successful the way Gene was, being a Hall of Fame player on the field, being an unbelievable leader of the NFL Players Association after he retired, and what qualities is it going to take to succeed as you go out into your college career and as you start. So each year we want those students that submit their applications to have to take a look at what made Gene such a special person. And so I think that Gene would be extremely proud of you, Garrett, in all of your‑‑ I looked at your application, and I don't think I've accomplished in 43 years what you've accomplished already. I feel a little humbled by this. But you've done an unbelievable job. And your name is now attached to a Hall of Fame player forever. And I hope that you continue down the path of success. And I know Gene would be very proud of you to have your name attached to his name on the scholarship. So congratulations. GARRETT BRONKEN: Thank you very much. THE MODERATOR: Chuck, tell us a little bit about Edgewood Companies' involvement. CHUCK SCHARER: First of all, we're thrilled to be partners, Gary, with you and your organization, NBC, in this scholarship program. The focus of Edgewood Companies' charitable programs is really on youth and education. So participating in the Gene Upshaw Scholarship Award just really fits right into our beliefs and values as a company. And certainly, Garrett, you're a worthy recipient of this award. You certainly emulate the values and the lifelong objectives of Gene Upshaw, hard work, good work ethic, leadership, and you certainly emulate all of those values and skills. I'm a life‑long Raider fan. I grew up in San Jose, California, back when Gene was playing and Daryle Lamonica was throwing bombs to Warren Wells and some of the greatest Raider teams ever. And certainly Gene Upshaw is not only one of the greatest NFL players and leaders of all time, but in my book the greatest Raider of all time. And I just always followed the team and his leadership. On and off the field, by the way. Everything Gene did for the NFL Association and the Players Association still has impact today. And it emulates his leadership and his impact on the sport and on society as a whole. Really proud to be a part of this. Terri, we're glad you're here be back in Tahoe and thrilled to be part of this program. Congratulations and good luck, Garrett, in the future. THE MODERATOR: Terri, always great having you here. Fourth annual award in Gene's name. How about some of your feelings on this. TERRI UPSHAW: Thank you for having me back yet for the fourth year. Congratulations. NBC and Edgewood, thank you so much for starting this and getting this going. It's something that I think Gene would be extremely proud to have his name linked to as a leader, as a professional football player, team leader. Gene was not just about accomplishments, not for himself at all, it was about the team, for the betterment of the game, for the betterment of families, as a father and a husband, that's how I can speak best about my husband. He drove home to both my sons about education, about community service, about leadership, about athletics. That was probably the lowest on his list because he didn't want to push that. But just being a good, upstanding person, always putting people first, and reading your bio and learning about you, you've seemed to have accomplished quite a bit in your short years. I wish you all the success and I know that you're going to work hard your senior year and go on to do good things through college. Congratulations. THE MODERATOR: I would like to introduce Garrett's folks. Paul, Linda and brother Bryce. Nice to have you here. Garrett, it would take me 20 minutes to read all the accomplishments you have here. A great combination of scholastics, athletics and leadership. The awards you've won, the different organizations you're involved with, it's unbelievable.  Ladies and gentlemen, our 2012 Gene Upshaw Scholarship Award winner: Garrett Bronken. (Applause)       GARRETT BRONKEN: It's like such an honor, first of all, to even be considered for this. It was awesome. I was so shocked once I got the call about it. And it's quite an honor to be linked with this man. Because I didn't know too much about him at first, but I started researching, and not only was I amazed with what he did athletically, but what he did for the NFL, like the Players Association, was amazing to me. For 25 years he gave the players a voice and he really just helped them and his hard work and his leadership and his honesty and his general care for all the people around him, they're just super admirable characteristics and definitely something that I'm going to try and incorporate into my life from this point on for sure. It's such an honor and I just can't thank you guys enough. THE MODERATOR: This award is a $5,000 scholarship with NBC Sports and Edgewood each splitting that 2500 apiece. Let's open it up to questions for the media. Anyone have questions of Garrett or any of the attendees? Q. Garrett, do you have any plans to enter sports in any facet? GARRETT BRONKEN: Yeah, I'm really interested in basketball. That's always been my passion. So I'm going to try my best to perhaps play at the collegiate level for basketball. I have no idea where yet but we'll just see where that takes me. And if not, I've always been interested in like sports medicine. So we'll see if basketball doesn't work out, definitely like an orthopedic surgeon or something like that where I can help people with sports‑related injuries. That's definitely like my plan. Q. How many applicants were there for the scholarship? GARY QUINN: I think we reviewed at least 12 total. Q. From both the local high school, South Tahoe and Whittell? GARY QUINN: Whittell. THE MODERATOR: Going through some of those application forms, there are a lot of really bright young people in this town. It was really nice to see. So what different colleges are you thinking? GARRETT BRONKEN: Well, like I said, my dream would be to go to Hawaii University. But anywhere warm, basically, like in southern California, so I can get away from the snow. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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