• A dream came true for about 80 football-fascinated BP employees and family members. As winners of United Way raffles in both Houston and Texas City, they took a behind-the-scenes look at the Houston Texans football team.
  

“THE TEXANS FIELD DAY was, in my boys’ words, ‘an awesome experience,’” said Craig T. DeVillier, Thunder Horse/Atlantic Projects HSE lead.

As with other participants, DeVillier’s sons Luke, 21, and Sid, 17, were able to meet and go head to head with several Texans player during the event. At the end of the Field Day, Sid even won a raffle prize: a full-size Texans helmet autographed by Andre Johnson.

“It was really nice of Jacoby Jones, Steve Slaton and Dominique Barber to take time during their day off to meet with us and take us through some drills. I know how much my boys enjoyed it, as they both thanked me more than five times each on the way back home to Katy.”

A day in the life

After arriving, BP employees initially heard a talk about "a day in the life" of a professional football player -- by Jacoby Jones. They then toured the weight room, locker room, rehabilitation area and playing field; and even had their pictures taken with Texans cheerleaders.

At the Methodist Training Center (The ‘Bubble’) across the street, they divided into four groups for drills and training exercises with the professional football players. “It was a wonderful and exciting opportunity. My boys will never forget it,” said Steve Velzis, marine regulatory advisor.

At the defensive station, they ran an obstacle course and tackled a dummy. At the punt station, they caught punts. At the offensive station, they caught passes from Texans player Steve Slaton. And at the field-goal station, they kicked field goals.

“I hear even the dads got to see how fast they could run a 40-yard dash,” said Tami Joslin, mother of a 10-year-old girl and OMS implementation coordinator.

Press Officer Daren Beaudo added, “It was a very fun evening. I think some of the adults enjoyed it as much as the kids. My youngest son Michael seemed to like the tackling dummy obstacle the best. It looked to me like the little kids really like tackling that dummy on the final sprint.”

Tailgate grill

After running and kicking and tackling, the day concluded in the Texans dining room with a “tailgate grill,” complete with Angus Beef hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and all the fixins.

John Curry, BP's community affairs director, said the Texans Field Day experience is part of a broader relationship with the Houston NFL team.

Among other things, he said the partnership includes the Texans support for BP’s JDRF efforts as well as the creation of a new BP/Texans program called “Toro’s Training Table.” In this new program, Toro – the

Texans mascot – visits schools in Houston, Katy, Harris County and Galveston County to talk to students about the importance of health and nutrition. In less than two years, Toro has reached 74,000 students.

“The partnership has been a good one,” Curry said. “Still, Tuesday night was all about the BP family. We’re glad BP employees were able to get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the Texans football organization and spend some quality time with their family members in a fun-filled atmosphere.”

Event Date: Dec. 8, 2009