By Myra Bean

Local Boys and Girls Club executive director Belinda Morris this week announced that Green Bay Packer starting wide receiver Donald Driver will be the guest speaker at the club’s annual Steak and Steak Dinner fund-raiser.

This year the dinner will be held Thursday, March 29 at 6 p.m. at the Batesville Civic Center. It is the club’s biggest fund raiser of the year.

Driver, 36, just finished his 13th season with the Packers. A 1999 graduate of Alcorn State University, he was drafted by Green Bay in the seventh round that year. He is a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Morris said Driver, though not a member of the Boys and Girls Club growing up in Houston, Texas, has dedicated his life and financial suppport to helping children in need.

In 2000, Driver and his wife of 12 years, Betina, created the Donald Driver Foundation (www.donalddriverfoundation.com), which offers assistance to homeless mothers and underprivileged children as well as scholarships to high school students in three states.

In addition, Driver has made more than 500 appearances since 1999, from schools to youth football fields to churches, delivering motivational speeches or offering assistance.

Since last year, the Boys and Girls Club has had to close the Crenshaw and Sardis Clubs, according to Morris. The funds from the upcoming banquet go to fund the activities of the Batesville club for the remainder of the year.

Tables and individual tickets are on sale now by calling the Boys and Girls Club at (662) 578-7309. Tables are $350 and individual tickets are $50 each.