May 29 - 31, 2009

Presented by

The Independent Advocatesfor Retired Football Players

In Association with

May 29, 2009Dear Summit Attendees:Welcome, and thank you for being a part of the first great Independent Summit of Retired ProfessionalFootball Players. Our premise for this gathering has always been inclusive and invitations were extendedto all retired players, wives, widows, groups, advocates, NFL officials and the new Executive Director of the NFLPA some months ago now.We are all indebted to the doctors, attorneys and other expert presenters and speakers who have taken thetime to be a part of this Summit. Their participation has certainly helped to make this event the first of itskind.Over a year ago, I spoke with Bernie Parrish about retired players getting together to hold the meeting thatthe NFLPA and the NFL should have held years ago. After that, I spoke with advocates Abner Haynes,Dave Pear, Bruce Laird, Tony Davis, Marvin Cobb, Jeff Nixon and Brent Boyd and asked them if theywould help and support such a gathering. Each said that they would. And they did.After sending out an open invitation to retired players, we received such a positive response that we allagreed to go ahead with it. We felt that we might be able to get as many as fifty people to attend and asyou can see, we did a little better than that because we have approximately two hundred people with ustoday.Folks at the NFLPA were laughing when they first heard of what we were working on but they’re notlaughing today. When they realized that their Convention/Golf Tournament down in Palm Springs wasnot keeping up with our numbers, they dropped the registration fees that they have had for years, offeredone- and two-year free memberships to the NFLPA Retired Group and even offered to buy two tanks of gas for players who would drive in from California and Arizona. It seems our Summit is alreadyimpacting behavior at the PA!This is your Summit, so we hope that you’ll feel free to “speak your mind” this weekend. Your advocateswill be in agreement on some things and they won’t on others. However, one thing we all can agree on isthe need for reform and improvement in our pension and disability plans and that’s the primary reasonwe’re here in Las Vegas.It is my fervent hope that you enjoy yourselves, learn some new and valuable information and aremotivated and inspired to stay involved in the current movement for change. I sincerely thank you forgiving me the opportunity to serve you.

Bob Grant

Summit ProducerRetired Baltimore ColtsWashington Redskins