Daniel Scannell (L) and former NFL San Diego Charger, Titcus Pettigrew remain longtime friends.

Staff reports

Former San Diego Charger Titcus Pettigrew will be keynote speaker at the “OpenDoors” Benefit and Art Auction February 20, 2010 at the YMI Cultural Center.

Pettigrew, who grew up in the public housing projects in Winston-Salem, talked with the Urban News about meeting his mentor and friend Dan Scannell.

“I was 11 years old when I became a participant in IBM’s Big Blue Adopt-a-School mentoring program. At that time Dan, an employee of IBM, was designated as my mentor. Unaware that Dan was observing me, I had one of my classmates pinned up against the classroom chalkboard in a scuffle. I suddenly turned around to see Dan witnessing me beating up on my classmate. Shamefully, I walked over to Dan, shook his hand, and told him, “I’m sorry you had to see that!” says Titcus.

As Dan listened to Titcus recount their first meeting, he admits he had mixed feelings of whether his commitment to mentor Titcus would take him in over his head. “However,” says Dan, “I looked at mentoring Titcus as a challenge, because I recognized his inner potential.” 

“The relationship with Dan was fragile at first,” admits Titcus. “It was very hard for me to take any kind of constructive criticism or direction from anyone who wasn’t my mom.”

Dan remained steadfast with Titcus. He was determined to meet with his teachers, to play basketball, to be an advocate for him, and to call him out when he was being difficult. Dan would pick him up and take him into what Titcus calls “the light” and then drop him back off into the darkness, a world of dealers and gangs.

Titcus believes there’s no sense in showing someone a better life if you don’t let them know they can have it for themselves. Dan showed him he could indeed have it – if he worked hard and remained true to his dreams.

And there came a time when Dan didn’t just drop him off in the ’hood but, instead, got out of the car to play basketball with the neighborhood boys. “It was risky,” said Titcus. But it worked. From then on he knew Dan wasn’t some guy coming to do his duties to the IBM program. He knew Dan was there to stay.

When Dan asked Titcus, “If you could do anything in this life, anything, what would it be,” Titcus answered that he wanted to play both professional basketball and professional football.

It was a lofty goal, and Dan stressed to Titcus that he had to work, not only on the court and on the field, but in the classroom too. “You can’t be on a team if you don’t have the grades,” Dan would remind Titcus.

Dan reminded him constantly, not just of the young man’s dreams, but of his obligations as well. That’s what mentors do: show a youth the possibilities available to the man he would become.

In high school, Titcus graced the cover of USA TODAY as the wide receiver of the year. After graduation, true to his dreams, he played both basketball and football for Penn State, and then played safety for the San Diego Chargers. They called each other often, and even after Titucs had achieved his dreams, they stayed close. Titcus was a groomsman in the Dan’s wedding; later Dan returned the favor.

Titcus Pettigrew now lives in Lisle, Illinois, with his wife Bonnie and their three children. They own a business together called Next Level Athletes that trains over 600 hundred kids a year to excel at sports, including basketball, football, volleyball, soccer. More importantly, Titcus says, he lets kids know they can have their dreams. He shows him how hard work can make them better athletes, and make them better people. He learned that from Dan.

He’ll bring that message to the YMI this week. “OpenDoors,” an Asheville nonprofit, works toward the same goals as Titcus and Dan achieved: breaking the cycle of poverty by connecting local children to individualized support networks, and providing them with opportunities for higher education. Jennifer Ramming, co-director of OpenDoors, describes OpenDoors’ work with kids as “intensive” and “intensely personal. “The proceeds of this event will help us pay for tutors, extracurricular activities, and tuition for at-risk kids.”

Auction tickets cost $50 per person. Visit www.opendoorsasheville.org to buy tickets. Tickets include wine and beer, heavy appetizers, music, speakers, the art auction and more. All proceeds from the event benefit OpenDoors. For more information call Kendra Sherrod at (828) 337-8086 or Jen Ramming at (828) 777-1135.