A former Major League Baseball player who won numerous honors and is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame will be the featured speaker at an annual event.

Andre Dawson, who played 21 seasons including long stints with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs, will speak at Thursday South Central MO Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coach and Athlete of the Year Banquet at Big Cedar Lodge.

South Central MO FCA  Area Director Brian Mitchell, during an interview on KRZK's "Ozarks Now" program, said that the banquet serves as a time to honor area coaches and players as well as get awareness for the programs that FCA oversees at over 90 schools in 11 area counties including Stone and Taney. 

Lou Holtz, Mary Lou Retton, Emmett Smith, Dick Vitale, Joe Theismann, Jim Kelly and Scott Hamilton are among the athletes that have appeared at past FCA Banquets.   

Tickets remain available for this year's banquet. Contact Brian Mitchell via email at bmitchell@fca.org for more information. 

The complete interview with Brian Mitchell is below followed by the complete release from South Central MO FCA:

South-Central MO FCA is excited to announce that Baseball Hall of Famer, MLB All-Star and MVP Andre Dawson will be this year’s Christian
Athlete and Coach of the Year Banquet featured Speaker. 

This year’s Banquet will be held on Thursday April 17 at Big Cedar Grandview Conference
Center. 

Andre Dawson was a 2010 inductee to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Dawson played 21 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Montreal Expos (1976-86), the Chicago Cubs (1987-1992), the Boston Red Sox (1993-1994) and the Florida Marlins (1995-96). He was the recipient
of the 1977 National League Rookie of the Year Award. 

He posted 78 extra-base hits (36 2B, 10 3B, 32 HR) in 1983 for the Expos. Dawson was named National League MVP in 1987 after hitting 49 home
runs with 137 RBI for the Cubs. "The Hawk" was an eight-time National League All Star (1981-1983 and 1987-1991) and an eight-time Gold Glove winner. He had 13 Seasons of 20 or more home runs. Andre was a member of both the 1981 National League East Champion Montreal
Expos and the 1989 National League East Champion Chicago Cubs.

After working as the special assistant to the President of the Miami Marlins, he is currently back in the Cubs organization as an ambassador. In addition to, Andre is currently the owner and operator of Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in Miami. 

South Central MO FCA serves 11 counties and over 90 schools reaching over 3500+ students, athletes and coaches each week through Campus Huddles, Bible Studies, Character Coaching Sessions, and events.