Fever owner wins school leadership award

The owner and general manager of the Tri-Cities Fever, Teri Carr, is the recipient of this year’s Southeast Washington Association of School Administrators Community Leadership Award on behalf of the Kennewick School District.

“Most of us that live in the Tri-Cities know about the amazing things the Tri-Cities Fever does on the football field, but few hear about all the good work they do off the field,” said Superintendent Dave Bond.

Each year, the Fever donates thousands of free tickets to United Way’s Attendance Matter campaign to encourage student attendance. The program’s success reduced middle school absences by two days during the 2014-15 school year.

Carr also encourages her players to get out and engage with students as much as possible. Players frequently make appearances at elementary jog-a-thons to run with the kids and cheer them on.

For the past four years, Fever players have led an after-school mentor program that serves more than 250 students at Eastgate Elementary twice per week. In addition, the Fever partners with other community resource groups to provide Christmas gifts, career education, game tickets for families, backpacks filled with food for the weekend, and pizza parties throughout the year for the school.

“Their participation and support of the many school events has made all the difference for our families,” said Eastgate Elementary Principal Arnold-Smith.

This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Fever owner wins school leadership award."