Description

For the 15th year, Team Focus will hold its annual fundraising banquet, featuring, for the first year, key note speaker, Coach John Harbaugh, the 2012 Super Bowl Winning Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and special guest, Coach Kevin Steele, The University of Alabama Defensive Coordinator. The banquet is set for Tuesday, May 16, at the Mobile Convention Center. Team Focus founder Mike Gottfried will speak and introduce key note speaker, Coach Harbaugh, and special guest, Coach Steele. Sponsorships available now include: Sponsor - $6,000 includes: 1. Table for Ten with prime seating 2. Private Meet & Greet with Coach Harbaugh & Coach Steele 3. Photo opportunity with Coach Harbaugh & Coach Steele 4. Autographed Coach Harbaugh Baltimore Ravens football 5. Program Ad 6. Event Signage Reserved table of ten - $1,000 This special night is the sole fundraiser for the non-profit Team Focus. It will begin with a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. with dinner served at 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $100 with early registration encouraged, as seating is limited. To purchase tickets, and to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact the Team Focus office at 251.635.1515 or visit teamfocususa.org. ABOUT TEAM FOCUS Named Mobilian of the Year in 2010, Mike Gottfried drew from his own life experiences when he and his wife, Mickey, founded the faith-based Team Focus in 2000. He has over 13 years of experience as a college football head coach and has also served as a college football analyst for ESPN. (Photo: Mike Gottfried) Team Focus is rooted in utilizing leadership skills, Christian values, guidance and continual relationships to reach young men aged 10-18 that lack a father figure in their lives. This community-centered program focuses on positive influences and role models – including high-profile, nationally-recognized collegiate and professional athletes and coaches - to reach these young men through individual mentoring, tutoring, monthly social activities, leadership camps and scholarship opportunities. Headquartered in Mobile, Ala., Team Focus has six chapter locations across the United States. Since its inception, the organization has impacted the lives of more than 6,000 young men throughout the U.S. For more information, call 251.635.1515 or visit teamfocususa.org. ABOUT COACH JOHN HARBAUGH Super Bowl-winning head coach John Harbaugh has led the Ravens to a playoff berth in ten (2008-12 and 2014 & 2018-20 and 2022) of his fifteen seasons in Baltimore, and in 2012, captured the franchise’s second World Championship. In 2019, Coach Harbaugh became the first Ravens coach ever to win The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award. (Photo: John Harbaugh) Devoted to his family and his Christian faith, John is most active in helping the Baltimore area be better for families. He earned the 2011 “Power of Excellence Award” from the (Ben) Carson Scholars for “demonstrating excellence in life and being a role model.” He’s a board member for the Port Discovery Children’s Museum and a significant contributor to numerous Baltimore-area events and charities. Harbaugh has also been an advocate of the U.S. Military. The NFL awarded him its 2013 Salute to Service Award, acknowledging exceptional efforts by those in the league who honor and support military members. (Harbaugh was also a finalist for the award in 2011.) In 2012, Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno presented him with the Outstanding Civilian Service Award. Harbaugh took part in the annual NFL-USO coaches’ tour of the Middle East in 2009, has visited numerous military bases in the U.S. and abroad, has purchased school supplies for children whose parents are serving in the military and has sent care packages to troops overseas. In 2008, Harbaugh also helped institute Military Appreciation Day, an annual event that takes place during Ravens training camp. Since its establishment, an estimated 8,000 service members have enjoyed preferred seating and opportunities to meet with Ravens players and coaches each summer. Harbaugh earned a degree in political science at Miami (OH), where he won the Football Scholar Athlete Award; he would later go on to earn his master’s in physical education at Western Michigan. In April 2014, Harbaugh was inducted into Miami (OH) University’s prestigious “Cradle of Coaches Association” and was immortalized with a statue on campus. John, who attended Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer HS, currently resides in Owings Mills, Maryland with his wife, Ingrid. Their daughter Alison is a junior lacrosse player at University of Notre Dame. ABOUT COACH KEVIN STEELE Kevin Steele returned to Alabama in February of 2023 for his third stint on head coach Nick Saban's staff and his second as defensive coordinator. He joined the Crimson Tide after serving as the defensive coordinator at Miami in 2022. (Photo: Kevin Steele) Steele will take over an Alabama defense ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense (18.2 ppg), sixth in pass efficiency defense (108.0) and 13th in total defense (318.2 ypg). The Crimson Tide return six starters but must replace Will Anderson Jr., Jordan Battle, Brian Branch and Henry To'oTo'o among others. A previous finalist for the Broyles Award honoring the nation's top assistant coach, Steele owns 39 years of coaching experience, including 13 years in the SEC and 10 as a defensive coordinator. Steele and his wife, Linda, have a son, Gordon, and a daughter, Caroline. Gordon serves on the football coaching staff at South Alabama.