Presenters
Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson spent 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1973-1983), earning three Pro Bowl selections during his career. Known as "The Original 88" to Cowboys fans, he went undrafted out of Tulsa in 1973, but made an immediate impact, setting career-highs in 1974 with 62 catches for 1,087 yards. Pearson ranks near the top of just about every Dallas Cowboys receiving record.
Pearson helped the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances in a span of four years, including a victory in Super Bowl XII in 1978 over the Denver Broncos. Pearson and the Cowboys met "Mean" Joe Greene's Steelers twice in the Super Bowl (1976, 1979) with Pittsburgh winning on both occasions.
In 2011, Pearson was selected to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, the highest honor in the Cowboys organization. He currently hosts “The Drew Pearson Show,” which is featured on local Dallas FOX television affiliates, including FOX Sports Southwest.
Lisa Loeb
Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb started her career with the platinum-selling No. 1 hit song “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film “Reality Bites.” To this day, she is still the only artist to have a No. 1 single while not signed to a recording contract, an unparalleled feat for an unsigned artist.
A native of Dallas, Loeb studied at Brown University where she received her degree in comparative literature. She has successfully parlayed her talents into a multi-dimensional career encompassing music, film, television, voice-over work and children’s recordings. Her acclaimed studio CDs include her major label debut, the Gold-selling “Tails” in 1995 and its follow-up, the Grammy-nominated, Gold-selling “Firecracker” in 1997.
In addition to raising two children, Loeb is currently busy working on the release of a new eyewear line, Lisa Loeb Eyewear (in partnership with Classique Eyewear); her second children's book Lisa Loeb's Songs for Moving and Shaking; a new adult studio album, “No Fairy Tale,” released January 29, 2013, and will be playing a highly anticipated concert in Dallas with her band Nine Stories at The Kessler Theater in Dallas on May 2.
Ron Kirk
With over 25 years of diverse legislative and economic experience on local, state and federal levels, Ron Kirk has put together an impressive resume, most recently as United States Trade Representative. He served as a member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet and as the president’s principal trade advisory, negotiator and spokesperson on trade issues. Kirk’s nomination to be U.S. Trade Representative was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 18, 2009.
Kirk was the first African American mayor of Dallas from 1995-2001, and his economic development efforts helped secure more than 45,000 jobs and investment of more than $3.5 billion for the city. To protect citizens, he increased the public safety budget by $128 million, and while he was mayor, Dallas saw its lowest crime rate in 20 years.
A native of Austin, Kirk received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and sociology from Austin College in Sherman. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1979.