Posted 8:32 am Thursday, August 16, 2012
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Actress, athlete to help kick off Jacksonville fundraiser
Actress Margo Martindale and former professional American football player Pete Lammons are set to be part of the Jacksonville Education Foundation's largest fundraiser of the year.
The fundraiser will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. today at Teaberry Farm, 2525 O'Keefe Road. Tickets are $50 each.
Foundation board member Grace Traylor has said Ms. Martindale and Lammons agreed to be co-chairs for the fundraiser and will speak at the Jacksonville ISD convocation on Friday. Therefore, she said foundation representatives thought it'd be good to have something the night before convocation, while they were in town.
"It's a kickoff for our membership drive for the education foundation," she said last month. "We're still very young and hoping to grow as much as we can so we can provide certain scholarships and classroom grants. We thought convocation in August would be a good time to kick off."
Since this will be the first public, large fundraising event, the foundation hopes to get good publicity and let everyone know that it's focused on increasing academic performance in all students, foundation president Barry Hughes has said. That means encouraging students through scholarships and classroom grants.
"This is our announcement to the community at large as to what we represent and what we want to do in our community, which is to improve academic performance in schools," Hughes said in July. "It's an opportunity to meet community leaders who are interested in that in a social setting and get to know them better and get ideas on how to encourage academics."
The fundraiser also will allow Ms. Martindale and Lammons to reconnect with old classmates and meet and greet other residents for the first time, Ms. Traylor has said. Refreshments will be provided.
"I think it's going to be a fun and interesting event. Teaberry Farm is a wonderful venue. It includes a home, a chapel, and a barn. I think people are going to enjoy themselves immensely (and) they're going to (see notable Jacksonville alumni) and provide support for the education foundation all at one time," Hughes said.
Ms. Martindale, who lives in New York, is an American film, stage and television actress who won the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Mags Bennett on "Justified."
According to a news release, her father owned and operated a lumber company in Jacksonville and was known as a champion dog handler.
While attending school in Jacksonville, the 60-year-old participated in golf, cheerleading and drama and was crowned "Football Sweetheart" as well as "Miss Jacksonville High School," the news release states. She graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1969 and attended Lon Morris College followed by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
"She is so fun. I remember her from growing up," Ms. Traylor said.
Among her film roles are "Dead Man Walking," "Lorenzo's Oil," "Marvin's Room," "Million Dollar Baby," "The Human Stain," "Proof of Life" and "Practical Magic," according to a news release. She was also featured in "Paris, je t'aime," "Walk Hard" and "Hannah Montana: The Movie." "Secretariat" is her most recent role.
As for television, her first roles included the miniseries "Lonesome Dove" and a recurring character on "Dexter," according to a news release. She became a cast member on "Justified" in 2011.
Lammons, who was born in Crockett but lives in Houston, played tight end for the American Football League's New York Jets and played for the National Football League's Green Bay Packers. During his time with the Jets, he won the AFL Championship with them in 1968, and played with them when they beat the National Football League champion Baltimore Colts in the third AFL-NFL World Championship game, according to a news release.
Before turning pro, the release states that he briefly played under NFL coaching legend Bum Phillips at Jacksonville High School.
"Lammons fondly recalls Phillips' habit of spitting tobacco into a tin soup can as well as his colorful tirades condemning the shortcomings of the Jacksonville Indians' offense," the release reads.
"They would meet again briefly in January of 1968 on the sidelines of the 1967 AFL All Star Game. Lammons, playing in his first All Star Game, greeted Phillips, who was an assistant with the San Diego Chargers organization, after the game with a question: 'Bum, does this mean I can claim you as a coach?' Phillips allegedly responded 'You can claim me as your'n if I can claim you as mine, Pete!'"
Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the foundation's projects. Tickets are available at the door.
