2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 210
BY SENATOR MILKOVICH
A RESOLUTION
To commend Danny Wuerffel, 1996 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Florida
and holder of seventeen National Collegiate Athletic Association and University of
Florida football records, on his immeasurable service in supporting community
leaders and revitalizing impoverished neighborhoods through spiritual and
community development through his service, particularly with Desire Street
Ministries.
WHEREAS, Danny Wuerffel was born in Pensacola, Florida, the son of a United
States Air Force chaplain, who, with his family, lived all over the country and spent three
years living in Spain; and
WHEREAS, in 1991, Mr. Wuerffel graduated from Fort Walton Beach High School
in Florida where he was class valedictorian, quarterbacked his football team to a state
championship, and was considered the outstanding college football prospect in the state of
Florida, eventually signing to play at the University of Florida; and
WHEREAS, after a redshirt first year, Danny Wuerffel spent the next four seasons
breaking records and garnering national attention for his Florida Gators, capping his college
career with a senior season in which he was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the most
outstanding college football player, leading his team to its first national championship in a
victory over its instate rival, Florida State University; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Wuerffel went on to be drafted into the National Football League
by the New Orleans Saints, bringing him in contact with a mission that would become his
life's calling, and he played professional football for six years; and
WHEREAS, Wuerffel began working with a nonprofit, faith-based organization,
Desire Street Ministries, focusing on spiritual and community development in the Ninth
Ward of New Orleans while playing football for the Saints; and
WHEREAS, as Wuerffel became involved with this organization and its mission of
faith-based community development, he helped found the Desire Street Academy where he
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served as development director prior to the devastation by Hurricane Katrina; and
WHEREAS, the familiar story of flooding and destruction throughout the city of
New Orleans, but particularly the swamping of the impoverished area of the Lower Ninth
Ward, failed to chronicle the story of the Desire Street Academy whose students scattered
from the flooding city and relocated across the South; and
WHEREAS, Danny and his wife, Jessica Wuerffel, were able to contact eighty of the
students who had immediately evacuated to Florida, and eventually the school was
temporarily moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where it foundered and eventually closed,
but the Wuerffels' involvement with and dedication to the broader Desire Street Ministries
continued; and
WHEREAS, in the wake of the storm, Desire Street Ministries grew to sites in
several states and Mr. Wuerffel was named executive director of the organization,
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia; the organization currently works in thirteen
neighborhoods in seven cities across six states, while continuing its work where the roots of
the organization are rebuilding in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, urban ministry leaders in the United States today face the tough
challenges of concentrated poverty, failing schools, unsafe streets, deteriorated housing, high
unemployment, and inadequate healthcare, but Desire Street Ministries believes that those
who commit themselves to ministry in today's cities walk in God's promise to uncover His
hidden beauty in places marred by outward decay; and
WHEREAS, Danny Wuerffel, despite fighting a 2011 diagnosis of Guillian-Barre'
syndrome, continues to work tirelessly for the ministries, lending the high profile of his
name and accomplishments to shine a light on the continuing good that the Desire Street
Ministries does in the communities in which it is involved; and
WHEREAS, bringing the Desire Street Ministries back to its roots in the Ninth Ward
of New Orleans, in August 2016, the new Desire Community Square was opened, eleven
years after the complete destruction of the area by Katrina; and
WHEREAS, by partnering with other nonprofit organizations, including Abundance
of Desire, Daughters of Charity, and Kids of Excellence, the community center is
encouraging development, growth, and sustainability of the neighborhood by including in
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the Community Square both a comprehensive medical clinic and an early childhood center
to serve the Desire community and attest to the commitment and faith of all those who work
in the impoverished areas where the Desire Street Ministries operates; and
WHEREAS, Danny Wuerffel and his family have not been alone in working for and
supporting the mission of Desire Street Ministries, but they have been a constant reminder
of the miracles that faith can accomplish, even in the most blighted of areas; and
WHEREAS, named in honor of a man whose extraordinary exploits on the football
field have been dwarfed by his spiritual leadership and community accomplishments in
impoverished neighborhoods throughout the South, the Wuerffel Trophy, known as college
football's premier award for community service, is awarded annually to the National
Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision player who best combines
exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement; and
WHEREAS, throughout his very public life in college and professional football and
his exceptional life as a faith-based community advocate and tireless worker for
improvement in impoverished communities, Danny Wuerffel has managed to make his
incredible accomplishments in the world of sports; but a footnote in the story of his life and
his deep spiritual faith has led him to unselfishly strive to better the lives of those living in
the direst of conditions in this country.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Danny Wuerffel, 1996 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of
Florida, and holder of seventeen National Collegiate Athletic Association and University
Florida football records, on his immeasurable service in supporting community leaders and
revitalizing impoverished neighborhoods through spiritual and community development
through his service, particularly with Desire Street Ministries.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Danny Wuerffel at Desire Street Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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