First, let me address a pet peeve I have regarding the media. Whether you agree with his policies and decisions or not, President Bush is our leader, and I get aggravated every time I hear on the radio or read in the paper/magazine about Mr. Bush. Give the man the respect he is due. Phew, glad I got that out. Now, below is a great story about the ND Football Coach and PRESIDENT BUSH! [Source: 12/5/07 South Bend Tribune].
During a recruiting whirlwind last week, Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis piled up the handshakes and frequent-flier miles.
Then a funny thing happened -- Weis himself got recruited.
Weis and wife, Maura, took a detour off the recruiting trail Thursday to speak with President Bush and first lady Laura Bush at the White House. The Weises were invited by Bush to attend a holiday party in Washington hosted by the president and his wife.
The Bushes also had some business in mind. They wanted to know if coach Weis would be interested in serving on the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
"It's moving in that direction," Weis confirmed Monday.
It's been moving in that direction for years, actually. Four years ago, Charlie and Maura Weis started Hannah and Friends, inspired by the Weises' almost 12-year-old special-needs daughter, Hannah. It is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to providing a better quality of life for children and adults with special needs.
In August, the Weises broke ground on Hannah and Friends Farm, a 30-acre residential community off Hollyhock Road, north of Auten Road, that will serve as a home for adults with special needs.
A caretaker's house is expected to be finished by this month, a recreation center for the property by spring and the first two units that will house a total of eight residents by next football season. The plans for Hannah and Friends Farm call for a total of 16 residential units to eventually be built.
Six months ago Weis said the White House sent a representative to South Bend to meet with the coach to gauge his interest in serving on the committee.
The President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities was created in 1961 by former President John F. Kennedy. It was originally called the President's Panel on Mental Retardation.
Twenty-one citizen members and 13 ex officio members appointed by the president comprise the committee. Among the citizen members currently on the committee is singer Clay Aiken of "American Idol'' fame.
It is estimated that more than 7 million Americans experience mental retardation and intellectual disabilities. Intellectual disabilities affected one in 10 families in the U.S.
Weis stayed in California after ND's 21-14 season-ending victory over Stanford, then began working his way across the country recruiting. On Thursday, he flew from Arizona to Washington to meet with "the big boss."
"We thought that would probably be a good thing to do," Weis said. "So we did that."
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