Community Service Award Named After Former Viking Alan Page
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A retired Minnesota Viking and NFL Hall of Famer who went on to become a state supreme court justice is still earning honors.
We're talking about Alan Page.
The NFL Players Association is recognizing the extraordinary work that Justice Page has done with it comes to community service and education.
The players union is taking the highest honor it can bestow upon a player, and naming it the Alan Page Community Award.
From his days on the football field -- when he was known as one of the Vikings' "Purple People Eaters -- to his time serving on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Alan Page has earned fame, yet remained humble.
"All of us have the power to bring about change, it's all in what we do," Page said.
A few years after retiring from the NFL, he and his wife Diane started the Page Education Foundation to award money to deserving college students. Thirty years later, a total of $15 million has been given to more than 6,700 students.
"Our scholars, in the end, are making this community better. And we have a significant financial commitment to them," Page said.
Last year, the Minneapolis school district renamed a building "Justice Page Middle School."
"We try to get there on as many Friday mornings as we can and welcome the kids and say, 'hello,'" Page said.
And now, an annual award from the NFL Players Association to a player who goes above and beyond to perform community service in his hometown, is named after Alan Page. The winner receives money to donate to the charity of his choice.
"In the end, it's about the impact we've had, and I'd like to think the recognition is because we've had a great deal of impact," Page said.
Justice Page says he respects today's NFL players who are calling attention to injustices they see in America.
"Sometimes you just have to stand up for what's right, and it certainly is not always easy," Page said.
Each week, the NFL names a Community MVP, and at the end of the season one of those players will receive the award that is now named for Alan Page.
The annual gala to raise scholarship money for the Page Education Foundation is Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Tickets and information about the event are available here.