The Athens Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce that Hendon Hooker will be the speaker for the 17th Annual Benefit on June 22 at McMinn County High School. Tickets are available by calling the chamber at 423-745-0334 or visiting http://www.itickets.com/events/476209.html. The Platinum Title Sponsor for the event is Bowater Credit Union.
Hendon Hooker is a quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Virginia Tech and Tennessee, where he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. He was drafted by the Lions in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Towards the end of the 2022 season, Hooker finished fifth place in Heisman Trophy voting. He was named First-Team All-SEC and earned SEC Offensive Player of the Year for his 2022 season. He led the SEC in pass completion percentage and passing efficiency rating and the NCAA in passing yards per attempt and adjusted passing yards per attempt. Hooker was instrumental for a resurgent season for the Tennessee Volunteers football program. Tennessee’s 11 wins, of which Hooker was the starting quarterback for nine of them, were the most for the program since 2001 and tied for the second-most in school history.
Hooker is a Christian stating that it was a “blessing” to have parents who got him and his siblings to be active in church at an early age. Hooker has said that all his hard work was inspired by his parents and says his dad’s influence and mentorship while serving in the youth ministry at their church has helped him understand he “can use the game of football to spread the message of Jesus Christ”.
With his knowledge of the Bible and wanting to influence the younger generation and his younger cousin Landon, Hooker and his brother, Alston, created a children’s book called The ABCs of Scripture for Athletes. Hendon’s goal was for the work to be “a positive influence in the lives of kids in his community”. The book uses a sports themed alphabet to help kids learn scripture.
The previous years’ speaker include: Steve Spurrier, Bruce Pearl, Pete Rose, Kirk Cameron, Lou Ferrigno, Phillip Fulmer-Al Wilson-Peerless Price, Nick Saban, Herschel Walker, Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, Amy Grant, Bo Jackson, President George W. Bush, Jack Nicklaus, Kayleigh McEnany and Chipper Jones.