Our own A.J. Luckett was today’s program and presented a Member Moment. He took a new job here in Adrian on January 2 of this year with Clift Buick, GMC. A.J. said that he still has a home in Chicago and still commutes back and forth. He is a Catholic and belongs to a 14.000 member church and he shared a hilarious story about his experience this past Easter Sunday!
 
He was born in Twentynine Palms, California and spent 2 years there. His father was a captain in the Marine Corp. They then moved to Nashville where his father joined a family-owned printing business that, at that time, was responsible for printing about every major magazine throughout the country. When he was in the sixth grade his family moved to Effingham, Illinois. He was a 3-sport Division I athlete and played baseball, football and track in high school there he said.  
 
A.J. attended Xavier University and played baseball his freshman year. He returned home to go to Eastern Illinois University his second year as he had a girlfriend there. The football coach at EIU recognized his ability and asked him if he would be interested in playing football for them. Once he was able to bench press 300 pounds, the coach said, A.J. should look him up and then they could talk seriously about him joining the team. A.J. said he could actually lift over 325 pounds! He played tight end for EIU. Mike Shanahan was a fellow player who later went on to coach pro ball at Denver and with Dick Childress who later became head coach for the Minnesota Vikings. His team’s quarterback went on to play for the New Orleans Saints. The university produced many great athletes, A.J. said including Tony Romo.
 
His best sport, however, was track and field where he was a javelin thrower. He was eventually ranked 23rd in the world! He threw in the actual event where the world record was broken in 1984 at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. There were 170 throwers at this event, he said, and some athletes were even from Germany as well as Russia. The best throw he ever had prior to this event was 253 feet. His first throw during the competition went 286 feet! He was leading at the end of the first round. ESPN then interviews A.J. he said. While this is happening, other athletes are throwing – at distance over 300 feet, he said. An athlete from the US did break the world record shattering the previous record of 311 by 16 feet (327)!
 
A.J. said he met his wife in high school who also attended Eastern Illinois University. They dated for 10 years! They were both 28 at the time. Her father owned a car dealership, he said, and that is the reason he now works in this industry. He proposed to her on a Christmas Eve. They have four children. Their daughter Emily is 26 and a graduate of the University of Illinois, who then went on to a nursing degree at a different university and is currently a nurse but now not only wants to get her masters in nursing, she wants to go on to a law degree. Their other daughter, Rachel, is a college student in Florida with a double major and a super athlete and particularly a softball all-star. Their son, Austin IV, is a junior in high school and extremely smart, he said, and loves to read. His youngest daughter, Madison, is 9 years old and in the fourth grade “going on 22-23 and runs the house", he said! The family plans to move to Adrian once their son graduates, he said.
 
Thanks for a wonderful presentation, A.J. and welcome once again to the club!!