Company News: Pat Summitt Leadership Group, A Proud Member of Southwestern Family of Companies

On Thursday, August 8th, at the Los Angeles Staples Center, one of our newest family members, Pat Summitt Leadership Group, was front and center at the LA Sparks basketball game to honor the late “Coach of the Century”, Pat Summitt. The event was co-hosted by Pat Summitt Leadership Group, the LA Sparks, Adidas and Candace Parker, one of Coach Summitt’s devoted former players who is now a star for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. The event touched the hearts of millions of viewers on ESPN and attendees with personal testimonies of how Pat’s leadership impacted the world.

Pat Summitt Leadership Group hosted a pre-game reception at the Staples Center for Southern California college athletic directors, women’s NCAA basketball coaches, high school girls basketball coaches, and other business, sport and media influencers to showcase two new programs:

Definite Dozen Leadership Kit

A coach’s kit that focuses on the Definite Dozen and is designed for high school girl athletes (not limited to basketball)
A 14-week program, 20 minutes a week

Pat Summitt Leadership Program with Growing Leaders

An on-campus representative who partners with college/university leaders
Currently launching with University of Alabama, Purdue University, and Pepperdine University

During the game and on national TV, Pat Summitt Leadership Group recognized five Southern California leaders with a presentation of the organization’s inaugural “Reach For The Summitt” leadership awards to showcase accomplishments of community leaders who have exemplified the spirit of Coach Summitt in the areas of business, arts and science, community service, athletics and education.

(From left to right: CEO of SWFC, Dustin Hillis, President of Pat Summitt Leadership Group, Kim Blumenthal, with award recipients: Aline Gregorio, Bill Sumner, Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, Tony Zee, stand in for Moez Keba)

After the Sparks’ victory, the nights celebration continued on with a post-game event and showcase where Pat Summitt Leadership Group’s co-founder, Ira Blumenthal, moderated a panel that discussed the life, legacy and leadership lessons of Coach Summitt. The panel included Coach Billie Moore (legendary Basketball Hall of Fame coach who was Pat Summitt’s mentor and Olympic coach), Ann Meyers-Drysdale (also a Basketball Hall of Famer, owner of WNBA team Phoenix Mercury, an ESPN sportscaster and the first woman in U.S. history to be awarded a full, four-year athletic scholarship (UCLA) and the only woman to be drafted by an NBA team), and Cori Close (Head Women’s Basketball Coach at UCLA and a top executive board member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association).

After the panel shared insights on the life of Coach Summitt, Candace Parker (2-time Olympic Gold Medalist, 2-time WNBA MVP, WNBA Champion, WNBA Rookie of the Year, 2-time NCAA Champion, 1st woman to dunk in an NCAA game, and a commentator and sports analyst for CBS Sports and NBA on TNT) delivered a short speech and hosted a Q&A session for the audience. It was a great opportunity to have media on board for the event with ESPN viewers tuned in as Pat Summitt Leadership Group had the opportunity to talk about the organization in front of a national audience.

(Left to right: Billie Moore, Ann Meyers Drysdale, and Cori Close talking about their Pat Summitt memories and the inspiration she instilled)

(Left to right: Ira Blumenthal, LeeAnn Hogan, Candace Parker, Isabella Blanchard, Kim Blumenthal, Dustin Hillis, Julian Wright)

Continuing with an exciting month for Pat Summitt Leadership Group, we had a great time celebrating their partnership within the family of companies with a launch and lunch party at Southwestern’s offices in Nashville on August 21st. It was a great time with employees across all of the companies who came together to learn more about the newest addition to the family and to hear first hand about Pat’s legacy and the plans to continue to honor her words and teachings with the exciting new products soon to be available to the public. Watch the video below to hear words from our CEO, Dustin Hillis, as well as Ira Blumenthal as a kick-off to the party. It is an honor to have Pat Summitt Leadership Group as part of Southwestern Family of Companies with the opportunity to continue Coach Pat’s legacy, which will impact many generations of future leaders worldwide.