ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys participated Wednesday in their annual kickoff luncheon at AT&T Stadium, complete with a silent auction, lunch, an introduction of the entire team and an announcement of awards from the previous season by Cowboys coaches and staff.
The 2014 Flowserve Dallas Cowboys Kickoff Luncheon at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The event included an introduction of the team and coaching staff to fans, a silent auction, lunch and more.
The luncheon benefits Happy Hill Farm, which is a residential school for at-risk youth that houses the Dallas Cowboys Ed Block Courage House. Happy Hill Farm, founded by Ed Shipman, strives to equip motivated and deserving students with the knowledge and skills necessary for life-long success.
Some of the awards presented at the luncheon included the Tom Landry Legend Award, which went to Danny White and the Ed Block Courage Award, which went to Barry Church for bouncing back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. The 2013 special teams, defensive and co-offensive MVP awards went to Dwayne Harris, Church, DeMarco Murray and Tyron Smith, respectively.
"It's a privilege to play with you guys, especially the O-Line – Travis Frederick, Mackenzy Bernadeau, Ron Leary, Tyron Smith and Doug Free. I definitely wish I could take a piece of this award and give it to all you guys," Murray said.
Jason Witten, who won the Ed Block Courage Award and was a co-offensive MVP in 2012, said the annual luncheon raised awareness about an [embedded_ad]
important issue addressed by Happy Hill Farm and Shipman.
"I think you can boil it down to focusing on those kids and allowing them to overcome those difficult circumstances in their lives and give them a chance to succeed. I think that's what Ed Shipman is all about," Witten said. "This is always a fun day, but I think it symbolizes that football is starting up for real. There's always a lot of excitement in the air when you come to this luncheon."
