re: Bama fans question!

having a personal connection via his son, coach stallings did a lot for the RISE center in tuscaloosa.

quote:

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n 1990, Gene Stallings became the head football coach at The University of Alabama and immediately became an advocate for the Rise Program. His son, Johnny was born with Down syndrome in 1962 in Tuscaloosa when Stallings was an assistant football coach at Alabama for the legendary Bear Bryant. Having little or no support when Johnny was born, Coach Stallings and his wife, Ruth Ann appreciated the availability of the services provided by the Rise Program. In 1991, a special employment program was initiated that provided jobs to adults with Down syndrome. In 1992, The University of Alabama began a capital campaign that included a new facility for the Rise Program. As the campaign began, Coach Stallings led the football program to the national championship and received the Bryant trophy as the national coach of year. Shortly afterwards, the Rise Program met it's goal and the new facility, The Stallings Center opened on November 30, 1994. As a result, the program expanded to include 6 classrooms serving 80 children with a staff of 34 individuals as well as consulting speech therapists

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