Damon Dunn – NFL Star & Republican seeks CA Secretary of State
By HHR | October 18th, 2009 | Category: Campaigns, Featured | 11 comments
Born in 1976 in Arlington, Texas to a 16-year old single mother, Damon Dunn grew up in dire poverty; living in a three-bedroom trailer with ten people. Damon grew up hunting and fishing as means to provide food, and wore Salvation Army clothes. From these humble beginnings, Damon learned the value – and the rewards of hard work, which he has demonstrated throughout his life.
Excelling in Education and Athletics
In high school, Damon was an honor student and earned recognition as a Texas All-State Football player. On these merits he was awarded a scholarship to Stanford University.
At Stanford Damon had a record setting college football career, ran track and earned many academic and athletic awards, including the NCAA Academic Scholarship, All-PAC 10 Honors and Academic All-Pac 10 Honors, and the NFL and College Hall of Fame Award.
Upon graduation Damon played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. Damon had the privilege to play under and be mentored by coaching legends such as Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, Tyrone Willingham and Tom Caughlin.
After retiring from the NFL, Damon attended Harvard Business School for the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program.
Leading Through Public Service
Despite these achievements, Damon has never forgotten what it is like to go to sleep hungry and wake with a sense of hopelessness. This is why Damon has committed himself to serve others; to show them there is another way and to help them find it for themselves.
While at Stanford University, Damon served as Executive Director of the East Palo Alto Stanford Summer Academy, which provided tutoring and mentorship to underprivileged Latino and African American students from East Palo Alto, Ca-. In recognition of his work at the Academy and elsewhere in the community, Damon received the James W. Lyons Award and JE Wallace Sterling Book Award given to students who demonstrated outstanding service to the greater Stanford community.
In the NFL, Damon worked with the Make a Wish Foundation to visit kids with terminal illnesses. He started the Fighting Giants Ministry that ministers to children with life-changing injuries. He also worked with St. Augustine Soup Kitchen, the Cops-N-Kids program, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Damon currently volunteers in Santa Ana elementary schools implementing the Latino Educational Attainment Initiative (LEA). The purpose of the LEA is to help Latino parents become more effective advocates for their children, particularly as it relates to their education.
Acting on His Faith
During his undergraduate days at Stanford, Damon served as associate pastor at Jerusalem Baptist Church where he managed the children’s and youth ministries. Since his time at Stanford and the NFL, Damon has started the Joshua Project, a leadership development ministry that mentors aspiring young Christian leaders.
Damon has served as president of his local Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter and has spoken nationally at FCA events. Damon is currently a licensed Baptist minister and a member of Saddleback Baptist Church.
Building a Successful Business
Upon retiring from the NFL in 2002, Damon co-founded a successful real estate firm with holdings across the country.
From this national perspective, he saw how certain governmental entities aided individuals and entrepreneurs to meet their full potential while protecting the environment whereas others did not.
He saw how the communities that provided the best education opportunities and kept its people safe, were those that had thriving business communities with good paying jobs.
In contrast, he saw how the California business environment was choking innovation and the potential of the entrepreneur, the two characteristics which had made California great in the first place.
He was stunned to watch Venus Williams and Serena Williams as well as Stanford classmate Tiger Woods, three individuals who exemplify the rich diversity of California, leave our state in part because of California’s crippling state income tax, which obtains 50% of its revenue from 140,000 of California’s 38,000,000 residents. He watched families who had struggled to keep their heads above water, pack up and leave to avoid foreclosure. He saw others leave because the education system was preventing their children from reaching their potential the way he was able to fulfill his, notwithstanding his personal circumstances.
Damon saw two choices: (1) either join the exodus or (2) stay, take a stand and fight for change. Damon has chosen the latter.
Damon believes the answer to California’s problems is not to increase the burden on the diminishing number of entities who have made the state successful, but to create an environment where ALL Californians can reach their potential. This means:
- The creation of a business environment that encourages job creation, innovation and growth.
- The creation of an education system that places the student, not the education bureaucracy, at its center.
- Returning power to local government and away from the bloated, ineffective and bankrupt state bureaucracy.
- A system that encourages the payment of good wages for good work, not a government pension system that pays healthy, working age people up to $400,000 not to work.
Damon is fully cognizant of the magnitude of the problem. However, Damon believes that great things not only are possible, they are achievable. He believes because of (a) his background and (b) the skills he has developed, he has (a) the perspective and (b) ability to make a significant contribution to help turn this state around.
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Interesting. CA puts a high premium on “star power”. And I don’t just mean Arnold. It’s a huge state, population-wise. Name recognition is a must. As a former NFL player, Mr. Dunn’s may be a good fit for the state. He sounds sensible. Best of luck to him.
Come on. This guy is unqualified. He knows how to preach and throw a football. Great. He is so detached from what it takes to do the job, he will probably quit when he finally figures out he isn’t being proposed to take Hillary Clinton’s job in the Obama administration.
The reality; Damon has exceeded beyond the qualification’s needed to turn the state around to prosperity. He has proven it through meeting the expectations of life. It takes dedication, perseverance, and diligence to do what he has done with his life. He has been a master student, community leader, successful business man, and professional athelete. How could any one say he is unqualified with his experience. We need Damon to be our future leader. STARTING WITH NOTHING AND RISING TO THE TOP.
The reality; Damon has exceeded beyond the qualification’s needed to turn the state around to prosperity. He has proven it through meeting the expectations of life. It takes dedication, perseverance, and diligence to do what he has done with his life. He has been a master student, community leader, successful business man, and professional athelete. How could any one say he is unqualified with his experience. We need Damon to be our future leader.
Damon….. Is my nephew and I view in somewhat of a unbias and bias way….. I never new his party loyality until a few weeks ago…. As a Moderate BlueDog Democrat, I had a feeling he was a republican and I thought how could I support him sense I felt as a whole the GOP didn’t serve everyday Joes’s like me. I seen Damon grow from a small child that excelled not only sports, but being focused to take on life challenges. I remember Damon playing in a peewee football game and the other team was intentionally trying to hurt him to take him out of the game…. On a play he was hurt and not only did the other players cheer, but their crowd did as well… If you know Damon as i do you can guess what happen next.. He came back and lead the team to victory… I know a lot of people ready this will think of I’m only saying these things because he’s my relative…Well I wouldn’t totally disagree, but I llok at the man he has become….. My personal view of Damon is he is the new crop of GOP candidates that will take politics and serving the people into a new direction…. The old school GOP machine needs new fresh leadership and Damon has the common sense, business success and leadership skills to accomplish difficult task…. Believe me when i say Damon knows the value of a dollar and I remember as a tenager, I and my brothers would borrow money from Damon when he was 7 years old..because he knew how to manage his money and seemd to always a little change in his pocket. … Yes we were as poor as you can imagine and did hunt and fish to eat, but in a lot of ways we always managed…. In short I truly believe Damon is good for California and will offer great public service to the State’s people and business communities…..
I really have to think a certain liberal blogger who was mocking Mr. Dunn on Sayanythingblog.com. After reading the comments this guy wrote I decided to look up Mr. Dunn for myself and found his story to be compelling.
Like Mr. Dunn I was born to an unmarried teenage mom, and had to struggle in life. Despite learning dissabilities and family instability I finished college and two masters degrees. Having been through what I have, I was impressed that Mr. Dunn has been able not just to pull himself up from poverty, but lift up so many others along the way. A lot of sports and entertainment figures write checks and make PSAs, but to actually give of yourself in the manner Mr. Dunn has is truly exceptional.
Good luck in the upcoming election.
I say Mr. Dunn is as qualified as Arnold or Obama. We need people who know what it’s like to be poor and be able to rise above it. Many athletes use sports as a way to make money not get an education. Kudos to Mr. Dunn, he seems to have done both. As a lifetime Californian I say give it a shot Mr. Dunn. You’ve piqued my interest. I will be watching what you do and you may just get my vote!
It will do well for Damon Dunn to cancel his candidacy and defer to Orly Taitz, esq. Dr. Orly Taitz has name recognition and she can do a lot to prevent Barack Obama from being a candidate again. If Damon Dunn is a true Republican, he will endorse Dr. Orly Taitz.
Go Damon! God bless you bro!
I have been inspired by Mr. Dunn’s story and see where he will make a difference in the state of California. He’s passionate about many more elements to life than simply gaining power. He wants to take on a task that is difficult and that most people wouldn’t want to take on because he wants to do what he has always done…help people!!!!
God bless I know you will continue to be successful my friend.
-David
I have been inspired by Mr. Dunn’s story and see where he will make a difference in the state of California. He’s passionate about many more elements to life than simply gaining power. He wants to take on a task that is difficult and that most people wouldn’t want to take on because he wants to do what he has always done…help people!!!!
God bless I know you will continue to be successful my friend.
-David