Each year the Lufkin Pro Day Group continues its mission of recognizing members of the community who have excelled on the athletic field and in life.  This Thursday, November 21st, several individuals and teams will be honored. 

Honored this year will be World Series Champion Brandon Belt, the late Coach Willie Ross and the late Coach Elmer Redd.
Belt, a 2006 graduate of Hudson High School, is first baseman for the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. Belt played baseball for the Texas Longhorns before being drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB). He finished the 2013 regular season with a .289 batting average, 17 home runs, 67 RBIs, 76 runs and five stolen bases. During the off season Brandon and his wife, Haylee, make their home in Hudson.
Ross and Redd who both coached at Dunbar High School, led the team to three consecutive state football championships in the 60s. Coach Redd went on to become running back coach at the University of Houston and the school’s fitness and training center bears his name. Coach Ross served the Lufkin community through coaching and teaching in the Lufkin ISD for more than 50 years. He coached at Dunbar and at Lufkin High School working through the days of integration to bring the students of the two schools together. Today the legacy of both coaches carries on in the lives of the hundreds of students they impacted in their extensive careers.
The back- to- back 3A state softball champion Hudson Lady Hornets will also be recognized at the banquet.
Tickets to the banquet are $25 in advance and are available from any member of the Lufkin Pro Day Group, from the Lufkin Main Street office in Room 240 of Lufkin City Hall or through the group’s website: www.lufkinproday.com. Tickets purchased at the door will be $30.
Those attending the banquet will also have the opportunity to have their picture taken with Brandon as a personal souvenir of the evening. Cost of the pictures will be $10.
The evening will include recognition of the honorees and a silent auction. Funds raised from the auction go to the group’s long-range plans of providing scholarships to deserving students and a local museum dedicated to outstanding athletes from the area.

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