Former Chicago Bull to speak at Family Day

Families need male role models, not athletes and entertainers, but men with whom children can routinely interact, said Dickey Simpkins, Fox Sports TV analyst.

Simpkins, a three-time NBA Championship winner and former Chicago Bulls player, will be the main speaker at Covenant Keypers’ Family Day Out. The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today in the Eastgate Mall parking lot, across from Virginia College. The event will be rescheduled for the same time April 25 if it rains.

Simpkins said watching his children’s development and making sure his wife’s needs are met keep him motivated to be a good father and husband.

“I want to be the father I didn’t have in my life,” he said.

Covenant Keypers co-founder Rosalyn Hickman organized the event to offer youth an alternative to violence and show a demonstration of love and unity.

Local choirs, a saxophonist and a steel drum band will provide entertainment, while vendors showcase natural health care products, alternative medicine and activities targeting youth. Erlanger Health System will offer blood pressure screening and answer health care questions. The event includes a motorcycle show, car show, a children’s corner and three-onthree basketball games including a game with local firefighters playing against local pastors.

Simpkins will discuss his basketball skills training company called Next Level Performance, which trains and mentors athletes age 7 and older.

Family Day Out comes after several local homicides and fatal shootings. Hickman said she wants to bring an environment of love to contrast with the violence.

“We’re so sick and tired of hearing that another teenager shot another teenager. It seems like we’re infested so I think the church should not be silent,” she said. “At least put ourselves out there so they can at least see another kind of world.”

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@ timesfreepress.com or 757-6431.