Willie H Mays, Jr., “The Say Hey Kid” of major league baseball fame, will return to the Coachella Valley to headline the Annual Champion Honors Luncheon benefitting the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children. The former New York and San Francisco Giants player and member of baseball’s Hall of Fame will conduct a rare and unforgettable intimate conversation with noted baseball interviewer Marty Lurie as a part of the luncheon program. The Champion Honors Luncheon will be at 11:30 am on January 14, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, CA.
“I am extremely honored to have been invited to appear at the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children Annual Champion Honors Luncheon, and to help out Barbara. Barbara was way ahead of her time on such a sensitive need,” said Mays.
Event Chair Hal Gershowitz also announced that Mr. Gary Hall, a longtime advocate and champion of numerous non-profit agencies in the Coachella Valley will also be honored at the luncheon. Gary Hall is a Senior Vice President with Wells Fargo Bank which will again serve as the presenting sponsor for the event.
“We are delighted Willie Mays is coming to share some outstanding stories of life and baseball with us. Willie has a long history of giving back to children as evidenced by his ‘Say Hey Foundation’ and that fits well with what the Barbara Sinatra Center does in the difference it makes in the lives of the children it serves,” Gershowitz said. “As was evidenced last year when nearly 700 people left our event all saying they had a great time, we are expecting the same kind of entertainment, energy, and surprises at this year’s event,” Gershowitz added. Bud Selig, Major League Baseball Commissioner keynoted the event last year that was also attended by many MLB owners and former players and members of baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Mays is celebrating his Giants third World Series Championship in the last 5 years. In 1954, Mays was a 23 year old right fielder with the New York Giants when in that World Series he made what is best known as “the Catch”. Considered by many to be the greatest player in baseball history, he is still revered for the passion he brought to the game.