Shaun Livingston event to benefit Concordia

Shaun Livingston gives much credit to being who he is and where he is today to Concordia Lutheran School, where he attended during his grade school years.

The NBA star and member of the 2015 NBA champion Golden State Warriors will be home next week to give back.

Livingston, Concordia Class of 2000, will meet fans and help auction sports memorabilia on Friday, July 29, beginning at 6 p.m. at Limelight Eventplex, 8102 N. University St. in Peoria. Tickets are $75 general admission and proceeds will go to help Concordia with its capital campaign.

“Concordia helped me to sow and groom the life skills that are necessary to become a productive adult. As someone who bypassed college to play in the NBA, you might think I may be under-prepared for life after basketball,” Livingston said.

“However, I can assure you that my success in life today was greatly influenced by my years at Concordia and the solid Christian learning environment. I’m not sure where I would be had I not attended CLS, but I do know that because of that decision I am in a better place,” he said.

Concordia, located at 2000 W. Glen Ave. in Peoria, has embarked on a $3.1 million capital campaign to expand and renovate the school built in 1959. Already, Livingston has helped jump-start that campaign with a $1 million donation.

Aside from general admission tickets, sponsorships of $1,250 to $10,000 are available, with each level bringing extras such as entry and tickets to a VIP reception with Livingston.

Items that will be auctioned in both a silent auction that opens at 6 p.m. and a live auction at 7 p.m. will include memorabilia donated by Livingston and other NBA players as well as the Golden State Warriors, from St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and Hall of Famer Stan Musial, from Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and Chicago Bears greats Gale Sayer and Dick Butkus.

During the 7 p.m. program, which will be emceed by Matt George, Livingston will participate in a question-and-answer session.

At 8:15 p.m. there will be live entertainment from Peoria artist and musician Preston Jackson.

In its capital campaign statement, titled “Concordia… Tomorrow,” the school said its mission is to education the youth of Peoria and prepare them “for success at life-long discipleship. With tremendous pride of our rich history and strong foundation, we look forward to the future and strive to continue to build on the tradition of excellence that has been prepared for us.”

Livingston graduated 8^th grade at Concordia and went on to lead Peoria Central High School to back-to-back state basketball championships in 2003 and 2004. Although he’d signed a letter of intent to attend college basketball powerhouse Duke University, he opted to entered the NBA draft straight from high school. He was the number four overall draft pick, selected by the Los Angeles Clippers.

He has played for several NBA teams, mostly since a severe knee injury that nearly ended his career in its early stages. He has found a home with the Warriors, which won the NBA title in 2015 and this season set the all-time regular season record with 73 wins and only 9 losses. The Warriors, however, we upset in the 2016 NBA finals by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

About the Author

Paul Gordon is the editor of The Peorian after spending 29 years of indentured servitude at the Peoria Journal Star. He’s an award-winning writer, raconteur and song-and-dance man. He also went to a high school whose team name is the Alices (that’s Vincennes Lincoln High School in Indiana; you can look it up).