Photo by erica cooley
CHIEF LESCHI STUDENTS GAVE A WARM WELCOME TO HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION GEORGE FOREMAN AT AN ALL-SCHOOL ASSEMBLY JAN. 8.
Chief Leschi gave a warm welcome to two-time world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman Jan. 8. He is one of the first celebrities to pay a visit to the school from the Tribe’s Emerald Queen Casino (EQC).
“You’re the only entertainer from the Emerald Queen Casino who has come out and spent time with our children,” said Tribal Councilmember Nancy Shippentower-Games at the school assembly.
Casino General Manager Frank Wright noted the Tribe invited George Foreman to the school because he represented many of the values held up at Chief Leschi.
“There are a lot of entertainers we could have had here, but we didn’t want here,” Frank Wright said.
George Foreman and his son, George Foreman III, were clearly wanted at the all-school assembly the day before the younger Foreman’s boxing match at the Emerald Queen Casino Jan. 9.
The father and son were greeted with a standing ovation, countless gifts, traditional performances and a video montage honoring the accomplishments of George Foreman’s long, successful boxing career.
George Foreman was a two-time world boxing champion and the oldest boxer to win the heavyweight title in 1994 at the age of 45.
He is also well known for his business endeavor – the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine.
“A lot of people know me as a boxer but the grill has taken over, and I’ve become popular because of that,” he laughed. “People say, ‘Hey it’s the grill man!’”
George Foreman and George Foreman III said they were both honored to visit the school, and get to see the students reviving the cultures and traditions of their ancestors through song and dance.
“We saw ceremony, tradition, which is going to be our salvation in this country,” George Foreman said.
“This school is an indication that things are going to get straightened out,” he told the student audience. “I think everything will be just fine when you take over.”
