men’s rally in the valley | The details

The seventh annual Men’s Rally in the Valley is planned for next Saturday at the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown. Bob Popa will be master of ceremonies. Mark Kholos of Shofar Shalom Ministries will call the assembly to order at 8:45 a.m., followed by an opening prayer and welcome by Matt and Melanie Miller, who will offer “A Tribute to Champions.” The event will feature recording artist Jared Anderson at 1:15 p.m. with special music and a musical send-off at 3:45 p.m. The event is free; there will be food concessions available. Speakers will be:

Jim Tressel: He will speak at 9:30 a.m. on “Defining a Champion,” including the misconceptions. The president of Youngstown State University is a native of Northeast Ohio. He previously was executive vice president for Student Success at the University of Akron. Before joining the University of Akron, Tressel was head football coach at Ohio State University from 2001-10, and his teams won the national championship in 2002, seven Big Ten championships, and appeared in eight BCS post-season bowl games. As head football coach at YSU from 1986 to 2000, Tressel’s teams won four Division I-AA national championships. He also was executive director of Athletics at YSU from 1994 to 2000. Tressel has published two books: “The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life” (2008) and “Life Promises for Success” (2011).

Devon McDonald: He has served as president and chief executive officer of Sports World since 2011. McDonald, a native of Jamaica, moved to the United States at 11 years old. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and assisted in winning a national championship in 1988 and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. His topic will be “First Steps, What is Your Potential?”

Roy Hall: He is a community leader, motivational speaker, college football radio/TV analyst, United Way “Color Me Excellent” Award winner, a 2015 Jefferson Award finalist and president and co-founder of the Driven Foundation. He is a former Ohio State football national champion and four-year National Football League wide receiver. He will speak on “The Journey, Discovering Your Potential.”

Eric Douglas: He is president and chief executive officer of XL212, sports management and marketing. It creates experiences for student-athletes and is dedicated to empowering and equipping coaches and athletes to go beyond winning. A native of Salem, he served as the area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Metro Atlanta before founding XL212 in 2009. He will speak on “Obstacles, What Equips You for Failure?”

Mark Hoobler: In 1993, he and his wife, Mary Ann, founded Front Door Missions. Their earliest mission involvement was on a Navajo Indian Reservation where several building projects were completed. Front Door also conducted revivals and crusades in Kenya, Africa, and changed its name to Mighty God Ministries. The ministries operate six Bible colleges. His topic will be “Redemption, Embrace the Grace.”

Information: www.mensrally.org.