The 13th annual Let Me Play luncheon has surpassed $200,000, exceeding the event’s previous record set in 2013. Recently held at the Charlotte Convention Center, Let Me Play raises funding for women’s sports scholarships at the University.
Lynn Good, chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy, served as this year’s chairperson, and she delivered the keynote address for the event. David Marsh, 2016 USA Olympic head women’s swimming coach, presented the athletes’ perspective.
Conceived by Charlotte 49ers Director of Athletics Judy Rose, Let Me Play is designed to mobilize influential women in the Charlotte area in support of women’s athletics and share with them the importance athletic participation can play in the development of young women. It annually attracts many of Charlotte’s most accomplished female corporate and community leaders.
“Part of our mission statement as an Athletic Department says we have a responsibility to develop our student-athletes not just athletically, but academically and socially,” said Rose. “Let Me Play has grown tremendously over the years and has allowed us to better fulfill that mission statement for all of our student-athletes, whether they are men or women. We are so thankful for all those involved in making this event a success and helping ensure that our young women have the same opportunities that our young men do.”
Student-athletes and coaches from many of the Charlotte 49ers women’s teams also attended, along with several former Charlotte student-athletes.
“This was my first time getting to come to this event, and I was just happy to get the opportunity to meet the generous people that donate and allow student-athletes like me to play collegiately,” senior women’s basketball All-Conference USA member Lefty Webster said. “It’s great because I know that if I didn’t have basketball, I probably wouldn’t have gone to college … to know people are that generous and donate money for us to go to college for free is amazing.”
Duke Energy; Bank of America; the Robert and Mariam Hayes Charitable Trust; Premier Inc.; Rodgers Builders; MetLife; Deloitte, Hunton & Williams; CB&I; Moore and Van Allen; the Charlotte Observer; Sealed Air; McGuireWoods; Discover Ready; IMG; Charlotte Knights; Ernst and Young LLP; Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated; Lowe’s; K&L Gates; OrthoCarolina; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Edifice Inc.; Northwestern Mutual; Charlotte Hornets; Foundation for the Carolinas; Bain and Company; Morgan Corp.; Robinson Bradshaw and Hinson; and Parker Poe; cosponsored the luncheon.