The Kansas City Chiefs have selected their drum honoree for the team’s Inspire Change Game against the Seattle Seahawks on Christmas Eve.
Voice of the Chiefs, Mitch Holthus, will serve as the team’s drum leader before calling the game on the Chiefs Radio Network on Saturday. Ahead of kickoff, Holthus will be up on the GEHA Drum Deck, banging the drum to get the home crowd at Arrowhead Stadium riled up for the game. If he can hit that drum with the same passion with which he yells, “Touchdown, Kan-sas City” It’s sure to be a hit.
Holthus has been calling games with the Chiefs Radio Network since 1994. He’s not only one of the most iconic voices in franchise history, but he’s one of the most iconic in the sport. Holthus will be joined on the GEHA Drum Deck by Janet Carlson Baker, Executive Director of the KC Shepherd’s Center, who will serve as the team’s DiPardo Spirit Leader for the game.
Other pregame festivities will include the national anthem, which will be sung by R&B singer-songwriter RJ Griffith. The Lenexa Fire Department will present the colors during the anthem.
The Chiefs intend to have a flyover of four A-10s from Whiteman Air Force Base ahead of the game, but that will all be determined by the weather conditions at kickoff.
The team also intends to announce the recipient of their inaugural Inspire Change Changemaker Award. Below is some information on that:
“The NFL’s newly established award recognizes individuals who are making a difference in their communities through social justice work, either individually or as part of a non-profit organization, across each of the NFL’s 32 club markets. Inspire Change Changemaker Award recipients are selected based on their outstanding work in the community, supporting one or more of the four key pillars encompassed in the Inspire Change Initiative: Police-Community Relations, Criminal Justice Reform, Education and Economic Advancement. Inspire Change is the NFL’s social justice initiative which showcases the collaborative efforts of players, owners and the League to create positive change in communities across the country and ensure that equal opportunity becomes a reality for all. Since 2017, the NFL family has provided more than $244 million to 37 national grant partners and hundreds of grassroots organizations across the country, nearing its 10-year, $250 million commitment to social justice efforts. All 32 recipients will receive a $10,000 donation to the social justice 501c3 nonprofit organization of their choice. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation.”
