The Ultimate Breakfast of Champions!

Philanthropists, local dignitaries, NFL legends, celebrities and the community-at-large, packed the Santa Clara Convention Center for JobTrain's twenty-ninth annual Breakfast of Champions on Friday, May 3rd.

Yes, the 2013 event was remarkable! Hundreds of wonderful and supportive people attended this extremely special event, to celebrate our community's unsung heroes and to help honor the prolific legacy of JobTrain's Executive Director Sharon Williams, and her dynamic achievements. 

Sharon's illustrious career at JobTrain began in 1973, and has spanned almost four decades. She's selflessly made it her life's mission to provide outstanding community leadership, phenomenal organizational direction and to always be there for her students and staff alike. This year's event was particularly emotional, as it marked the end of an era as Sharon's last Breakfast presiding as Executive Director.

We'd like to acknowledge and thank the fantastic philanthropists and extraordinary 2013 celebrity guests: Jennifer Azzi, Brian Copeland, Mike Cassidy, Paul Cook, Dick Gould, Steve Kinney, Kathy Kwan, Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana, Michael Pritchard, Lisa Sonsini, Keena Turner, Tara VanDerveer, Delvin Williams and Rita Williams.

The charismatic and always fantastic Jan Hutchins was the master of ceremonies. Jan kept the audience engaged and on the seat of their chairs for two consecutive hours!  

There were so many extraordinary and heartfelt moments at this year's Breakfast. JobTrain's featured speaker, USF Basketball Coach and Gold Medal Champion Jennifer Azzi, delivered an inspirational speech that set the tone for the event.

The Paul M. Cook Alumni Awards were presented to James Robinson, Culinary Arts graduate and Geronimo Garcia, Computer Service Technician graduate. Both these young men defied the overwhelming odds stacked against them, and were recognized for their outstanding professional success upon completing their education at JobTrain.

Todd Bradley, Executive Vice President of Printing and Personal Systems Group at Hewlett-Packard, accepted the TRAILBLAZER AWARD from JobTrain. During his acceptance speech, he surprised the audience when he announced: "I am thrilled to donate $250,000 in computer equipment for JobTrain students and staff." 

The excitement factor ascended towards a consistent upward trajectory after Bradley's announcement. 

For the first time in JobTrain history, there were two winners of the United Airlines sponsored essay contest, "Where I Want to Fly and Why." The judges were deadlocked during the deliberation process in a 4:4 vote. However, due to the extreme generosity of United Airlines, they provided two sets of (2) tickets, and in doing so awarding Sean Swihart, current CISCO employee and Culinary Arts graduate, along with GED student Mary Thompson, tickets that fulfilled their personal dreams. (Please listen to their unbelievably moving stories and acceptance speeches by watching the video here). 

Keynote speaker, author, comedian, philanthropist and media personality Brian Copeland, shared how life's struggles and detours are there to essentially test ones resolve towards reaching their full and unmet potential.

Humanitarian, comedian and philanthropist Michael Pritchard, brilliantly kept the audience in stitches - finding humor in aspects of everyday life. His philosophical and comedic antidotes for dealing with "the deck of cards life gave you," was exceptional. 

The Breakfast also featured a live singing performance by JobTrain Culinary Arts alum, Krishna Kinsey. She now works for a Michelin Star restaurant in New York and traveled across country to inspire the audience with her show-stopping rendition of "Today My Life Begins."

We'd like to thank our wonderful and generous event underwriters:

*Presenting Sponsor: The Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation

*Grand Champion Sponsor: Facebook

*Grand Champion Sponsor: Patrick Pichette

We'd also like to thank California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, for both recognizing and endorsing JobTrain as the nationwide model for vocational training programs. (Please watch his inspirational welcome address here).

Congratulations to our 2013 BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS AWARDEES:

* Employer Champion Award: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

* Trailblazer Award: Hewlett-Packard 

It's never too early to start thinking about next year's Breakfast of Champions event. If you'd like to attend or wish to become an event sponsor, please visit us at www.jobtrainworks.org to learn more!