| Friday, July 14, 2006 |
| Bush, GM to announce extension of car loan to first-responders |
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By Lori Lyons
Saints rookie running back Reggie Bush is continuing to help his beleaguered new home city, and he's using yet another one of his corporate sponsors to do so.
At a press conference today in Slidell, Bush and General Motors will announce a one-year extension of the loan of 12 Hummer H3 vehicles provided to several state agencies for use in hurricane relief and recovery since last fall. The vehicles, built at GM's Shreveport plant, were provided to the governor's office last fall after Hurricane Katrina, then given to local agencies for transporting goods and personnel.
Bush, who signed a corporate contract with Hummer before he was drafted by the Saints, will be present for the announcement, along with Brigadier General Hunt Downer of Louisiana's Office of Emergency Preparedness, Slidell Police Chief Freddie Drennan and Slidell Mayor Ben Morris. Bush also will donate to the Slidell Police Department several autographed items which will be used to raise money for local charities Community Christian Concerns, Children's Advocacy Center, Crisis Pregnancy Help Center and Youth Truth.
"This is step three in a 10-step process to try to do my part in the rebuilding of this city following Katrina," Bush said. "This donation of the 12 Hummers goes right to the heart of helping first responders, the critical men and women that are on the front line saving lives in the event of an emergency."
Downer will accept the handoff on behalf of the governor's office.
"I'm real excited," Downer said. "It's fantastic. One, to have General Motors, a corporate entity of Louisiana, and these Hummers all were made in Louisiana. And two, Reggie Bush is a new Louisiana resident. He's here to play football in Louisiana. The New Orleans Saints are a football team, but they also are an economic entity. This brings it all together."
Slidell Police Department spokesman Capt. Rob Callahan said Slidell was one of the areas hardest hit by Katrina and certainly can use the help.
"Although New Orleans gets most of the press, people have really forgotten about Slidell," Callahan said.
"Hummer donated two of these vehicles to Slidell. We've used them for the last year, and we will continue to use them. We're grateful to General Motors for allowing us to have them. We're really appreciative to Reggie Bush. For him to come to the north shore to donate his time and these items to us means a lot."
Last month Bush and adidas donated $50,000 to Holy Rosary Academy, which was devastated by Katrina, to help the school remain open. Then Bush and adidas donated $86,000 to Tad Gormley Stadium for repairs and renovations.
[via NOLA] |
posted by Dr. Wizvax @ 2:31 AM  |
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