My New Hero: Earl Stafford

You didn't ask me, but my faith in mankind and human kindness is slowly, by small degrees, being restored.

And my current inspiration is Earl Stafford and the Stafford Foundation.

The Stafford Foundation, a private foundation committed to helping underserved, marginalized and distressed individuals, has announced its unprecedented inauguration celebration plans at The JW Marriott Washington, D.C. hotel, located between the Capitol and the White House.

"Our foundation is thrilled about the unprecedented opportunity to bring Americans of every walk of life together for a momentous celebration," said Earl W. Stafford, Sr., who founded the Stafford Foundation in 2002. "We are committed to giving the underserved a chance to prosper and thrive, and these events will offer them a front-row seat to our nation's historic celebration in downtown Washington."

Thanks to the foundation's $1 million investment, participants will attend the events and stay at the JW Marriott free of charge. A third of the tickets for all the Stafford Foundation events will be distributed to hundreds of marginalized Americans who have demonstrated a positive example by embodying hope and facilitating change in their communities. The Marriott will serve as the central point to welcome the group of diverse people who come to celebrate America's new president.

Mr. Stafford added, "The People's Inaugural Project offers the underprivileged in our society a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come to our nation's capital and join in the watershed inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. It's a historic investment for our foundation."

The day's events will include:

    --  Prayer Breakfast on the morning of January 19, which will provide hope
      and prayer for our country, its financial stability, our troops in
      battle and especially President-elect Barack Obama.

    --  Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon on the afternoon of January 19, which
      will celebrate the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King's
      inspirational vision.

    --  The People's Inaugural Ball on the evening of January 20, which
      will bring together citizens from all walks of life.

Earl Stafford is CEO and Chairman of Universal Systems & Technology, Inc. (UNITECH). Stafford founded the company after a 20-year career in the U.S. Air Force. The company provides information technology services for aviation and defense systems, including systems engineering and telecommunications, and simulation-based training.

Wow!