Former Ferris SID Tim Pendell To Be On Campus
Big Rapids, Mich. - A special guest will be featured during WYBR's live coverage of Ferris State University's football "Homecoming" contest against Indianapolis this Saturday (Oct. 10) from Top Taggart Field.
Former Ferris State sports information director Tim
Pendell, who currently serves as the Senior Director of
Community Affairs for the National Football League's (NFL) Detroit
Lions, will be interviewed during the contest as part of the Y102
broadcast. Announcer Jason DaDay will provide the live
play-by-play coverage with Sandy Gholston offering color commentary
for the 2 p.m. (ET) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) kickoff.
Saturday's game can be heard live on 102.3 FM in Big Rapids with
pregame coverage beginning at approximately 1:40 p.m. (ET) and the
broadcast will also be available as part of the B2 Networks audio
& video pay-per-view webcast at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com (click on B2 Networks
icon).
In addition to doing the live radio interview and being a part
of the homecoming activities, Pendell will return to campus to
moderate an event called "125 Years of Stories. What's Yours?" in
the Alumni Building on the Big Rapids campus beginning at 9 a.m.
(ET) on Saturday morning. As part of the 125th anniversary
celebration at Ferris, the special event will allow people with
ties to Ferris to bring their memories and memorabilia back to
campus to share with others.
Pendell, who was honored as the "Most Proactive Staff Member" of
all the North America professional sports teams by the World Sports
Humanitarian Hall of Fame in early 2003, served from 1976-83 as the
Sports Information Director at Ferris State, He has since
played an active role during his time with the Lions and has helped
establsh a significant charity and community affairs impact within
the metropolitan Detroit area and the entire state of Michigan. He
also has spent a tremendous amount of time with the Detroit Police
Athletic League (P.A.L.) which enables 3,000 Detroit area children
to play football along with the Detroit Lions Academy and the
United Way.
Through his leadership efforts, the Detroit Lions' Community Affairs Department was previously selected the recipient of the Pro Team Community Award and was awarded a citation for the "Best Use Of A Diversity Theme" as a result of the Lions' programs to help youth cope with the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. The Pro Team Community Award recognizes the pro sports organization that is judged to have the most effective calendar of community activities.
A native of Macomb, Ill., Pendell is presently in his 24th year with the Detroit Lions organization and was promoted to Senior Director of Community Affairs February 13, 2001. He joined the Lions in 1985 and was Director of Communications prior to being named to his current position in December 1990. A member of the P.A.L. Board of Directors, Pendell helped initiate the Detroit Lions Academy, an alternative middle school for Detroit Public School children which opened in Fall 2001. He has also served as the team's liaison with the Detroit Lions Alumni and has organized various Lions' special events such as the Detroit Lions Golf Invitational and Kickoff Luncheon. Following his seven-year stint at Ferris State, Pendell joined the public relations staff of the United States Football League's Michigan Panthers from 1983-84.
Pendell also played an integral role in donating both Detroit Lions' game tickets and an authentic game jersey with the proceeds going toward the FSU Athletics Department weight room in the memory of former Bulldog football student-athlete Matt Sklom in 2002.
