MASON — It is once again time for the Mason County Community Foundation’s annual fall grant awards reception and benefit.

The reception, which is sponsored by Peoples Bank, is slated to take place 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12 at the Riverside Golf Club in Mason. Tickets for the event are currently on sale and cost $50 per person or $550 for half table sponsors and $1,000 for full table sponsors.

During the reception, the Fall Community Action Grant and Fund for Youth Grant awards will be presented. The Mason County Fund for Youth Sponsor and Donor Spotlight Recognitions also will take place. An auction of various items will take place following award presentations.

The event’s guest speaker will be Mike Bartrum, a former National Football League player and community leader. Bartrum, a talented longsnapper and tight end during his NFL days, was recently elected a member of the Pleasant Valley Hospital Board of Trustees.

He now resides in Meigs County, Ohio, with his wife, Jennifer, a physical therapist, and their four children, Cody Michael, 10, Zachary Fenton, 9, Ty Austin, 5, and Taylor Catherine, 3. Since his retirement from the NFL, Bartrum has become extremely active in community service.

Bartrum attended Meigs High School in Pomeroy, then played college football at Marshall University. He was an All-Southern Conference second team tight end in 1991 and first team All-SC in 1992, as well as second team All-American on The Sports Network team that same season. His tight ends coach, Mark Gale, introduced him to the position of longsnapper which propelled Bartrum into the National Football League.

Bartrum played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1993), Green Bay Packers (1995) and the New England Patriots (1996 – 1999) before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles (2000). He was invaluable as the team’s longsnapper but also filled in where needed. He handled kick-off duties for the Eagles in two games when David Akers was injured, which earned him a selection to the Pro Bowl after the 2005 season. In addition, in 2006, he served as the Eagles’ emergency quarterback after an injury to Donovan McNabb.

According to reports, in November, 2006, Bartrum complained of neck pain after a game with the Indianapolis Colts. An MRI showed some bulging in one disc as well as a disc which was “herniated centrally and lying against the spinal cord.”

Bartrum was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season but announced his retirement in June, 2007.

Re-settled in Pomeroy, Bartrum has been instrumental in kickstarting new programs including teaching at a Christian pre-school, organizing a youth flag football league in cooperation with the NFL and spearheading the charge to build a new football field and track facilities at Meigs High School. Additionally, he was elected to serve as a Meigs County Commissioner.

The Mason County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation. For more information on the reception, call (304) 372-8588.