Recognition for His Contributions to Youth
National Track & Field Hall of Famer and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis will be honored with the 2007 National Pathfinder Award at the annual Pathfinder Awards Banquet on Sunday, June 24 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Lewis will be in Indianapolis prior to the Pathfinder Awards Banquet for the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will take place at Carroll Stadium on the IUPUI campus, June 20-24.

The Pathfinder Awards annually recognize individuals for their contributions and dedication to youth. The awards banquet complements the Youthlinks Indiana Charity Golf Tournament, co- presented by Indiana Sports Corporation and Indiana Black Expo. The event raises thousands of dollars that are distributed back into the community to support youth-based sports programs and initiatives through the CHAMPS (Champions in Life) grant program.

See the USATF biography of Carl Lewis

Since his retirement from active competition in 1997, Lewis has devoted a great deal of his time and energy to charity, founding "The Carl Lewis Foundation," which serves as an umbrella for the many charities that Lewis supports, including the College Fund (formerly known as the United Negro College Fund), The Wendy Marx Foundation (for organ donor awareness) and the UNCF Walkathon in Houston. Lewis also serves as a spokesperson for The Hershey's Track & Field Games. As a board member, he is active in the "Best Buddies" Organization.His passion through the foundation is children. Lewis started his foundation to fight the growing problem of childhood obesity.He holds an annual Family Fitness Festival with the proceeds benefiting the American Diabetes Foundation.

Former Pathfinder Award recipients include college basketball coaching legend John Wooden, three-time Olympic gold-medal winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee, golfing greats Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson and Chi Chi Rodriguez, Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her husband, Sargent Shriver, Indiana Senators Richard Lugar and Birch Bayh, NFL coaching greats Tom Landry and Tony Dungy, and former United States Olympic Committee President Dr. Leroy Walker. Awards presented at the banquet will also include the Indiana Pathfinder Award, PeyBack Award presented by Peyton Manning's PeyBack Foundation, and the Reverend Charles Williams Award.

For more information on the 2007 Pathfiner Award Banquet, contact the Indiana Sports Corporation at 317-237-5000.