Marion Star Staff Report • May 3, 2009 MARION &mdash Another Buckeye basketball great has committed and is back in the lineup for the
annual Marion County Youth Foundation fund-raiser. The marquee celebrity and featured speaker for this year’s Charity-Celebrity Golf and Dinner Outing is Jerry Lucas. Another 22 celebrities past and present from sports and broadcasting are also lined up to tee it up for the cause. And according to Celebrity Chairman Greg Swepston, the event will also welcome back Clark Kellogg, who has had to miss the last few outings due to other commitments. A basketball star for The Ohio State University and NBA Indiana Pacers, Kellogg is lead college basketball analyst for CBS and recently moved from the studio to court-side for one of the sports world’s premiere events, the Final Four. The Charity-Celebrity outing is the only fund-raiser for the non-profit Marion County Youth Foundation that is dedicated to financially assisting Marion County youths as they pursue their goals in academic, vocational and extracurricular activities. Lucas, considered by many as the best ever among Ohio State University greats, appears courtesy of Tubby’s Pizza. Lucas went on to star in the National Basketball Association after setting records and winning the 1960 national championship with the Buckeyes. He’ll be joined by Kellogg and these other stars of sports: former head football coach at Ohio State Earle Bruce, Marion native and former Cincinnati Reds pitcher John Courtright, Columbus Blue Jackets radio analyst Bill Davidge, 1968 Ohio State football captain Dave Foley, Outland Trophy winner for Ohio State John Hicks, Cleveland Browns All-Pro Jim Houston, Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro Pete Johnson, Ohio State tailback great Calvin Murray, Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter, All-Big Ten linebacker for the Buckeyes Phil Strickland, retired Boston Red Sox super scout Larry Thomas, 1968 World Champion Detroit Tigers pitcher Jon Warden, retired NFL official Don Wedge, former Ohio State recruiting coordinator and national recruiting analyst for ESPN Bill Conley, former Buckeye basketball player Rick Smith, and boxing’s 1956 Olympic Gold medalist Pete Rademacher.
Columbus sports personalities Omar Ruiz with NBC4 and Mr. High School Sports Larry Larson are also participating, with Larson serving as the master of ceremonies. Mike Talis again provides the silent auction items.