Former Packer Addresses OCHS Student Leaders

The leadership banquet Tuesday night brought together about 275 people.

About 100 of them were students, who over the past year served as team captains, student council members and officers of student organizations.

And one of them was a Green Bay Packers great.

The Packers' all-time leading rusher, Ahman Green, was the keynote speaker at the banquet inside the . Green shared his stories of trials and tribulations growing up, and drove home his message to students that nothing in their life will be given to them -- they have to earn it.

"You guys are here because you stepped up to the plate and did what was asked of you," Green said.

Like them, Green has been in leadership positions throughout his life. He was captain of his football teams as he rose from high school standout to NFL star; today, he is active in the Ahman Green Foundation and co-owner of the Green Bay Blizzard arena football team.

Green also took questions from the crowd afterward, garnering laughs when talking about Brett Favre pranks (Favre once put deer urine on Green's practice clothes); bemoaning last year's Nebraska-Wisconsin result (he's a former Husker); and taking a Favre-vs.-Rodgers question (he deftly avoided answering it directly, instead talking about each quarterback's strengths).

Green, who still resides in the Green Bay area, played for the Packers from 2000-2006 and then again in 2009, his last year in the NFL. His foundation aims to enhance the quality of life for children who have been affected by hardships and terminal illnesses.

The OCHS leadership banquet is in its fifth year. High school teachers Susan Tucknott, Andrea Schmidt and Kathy Scaffidi started the event to honor students who made a positive difference by taking on a leadership role and leading by example.