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Goal Oriented THREE WINDY CITY BUSINESSMEN TEAM UP TO INSPIRE AND EDUCATE LOCAL YOUTH WITH THE 17TH ANNUAL CHICAGO FOOTBALL CLASSIC. BY J.P. ANDERSON In a city as passionate about sports as Chicago, one surefire way to draw attention to a good cause is a big game. Case in point: For the past 17 years, The Chicago Football Classic has drawn thousands of sports fans to Soldier Field for a gridiron contest between historical black colleges and universities (HBCUs)—from Morehouse and Alcorn State to Texas Southern and Alabama A&M—all in the name of promoting higher education, stopping violence, and creating scholarships ($1.7 million and counting) for underserved Chicago youth. As founders Larry Huggins and twins Everett and Tim Rand (president and CEO of Riteway-Huggins Construction Services and the owners of Midway Wholesalers and Midway Airport Concessionaires, respectively) prepare for this year's September 20 kickoff, the trio chat with Michigan Avenue about how a college football game is helping inspire Chicago's youth to continue their education. What was your inspiration for the Chicago Football Classic? Timothy Rand: The children in the city. Just about every youth knows where Soldier Field is, but the cost of admission to a sporting event there is a healthy price. We wanted to provide them with entertainment that they could afford and show them that there are college institutions within their grasp. We designed the event around offering scholarships, and what better way than to have children see these HBCUs on the playing field? Larry Huggins: We looked at exposing kids to the historical black colleges of the South. And there's an economic impact, too: the revenue the game brings to the city of Chicago. As African-American business- men that benefit tremendously from the city, it's our way of giving back. It's also more than just a football game. One of the things Tim brought up years ago was to ask, How do we stop the violence in the city? Making sure that our kids get a quality education is one way of doing that. Everett Rand: With the game, instead of having kids stand by and hold the ladder of success for others, they actually get to climb it. We're giving them an opportunity to see themselves. City Colleges of Chicago prepares all the meals, so they get to see alternate forms of employment. We want them to see who choreographs the game, who the special events people are, who the coaches are, who repairs the instru- ments, who prepares the band uniforms. The kids aren't all athletically inclined, and our scholar- ships aren't necessarily athletic—Central State [alone] has given close to $2.5 million in scholarship money to the students of Cook County. So we're finding a way to [benefit] everyone. TOP LEFT: The Chicago Football Classic principals: Everett Rand, Larry Huggins, and Tim Rand. ABOVE: Morehouse defeated Central State 42–20 in last year's contest. LEFT: Everett Rand with Morehouse's Devon Mann and Central State's Tayvin Ziegler. CONTINUED ON PAGE 88 86 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM PEOPLE Spirit of Generosity

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