Guests at the 12th annual Mel Blount Youth Home All-Star Celebrity Roast knew they were in for a treat as the line of NFL players and coaches, past and present, entered the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel April 16.

Being honored that night was Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. Following in Steelers tradition, Ward is known for his efforts on and off the field as a four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and a devoted philanthropist.

STEELERS FOR LIFE—Surprise guest Jerome Bettis, left, with Hines Ward and Mel Blount, share many laughs at the roast.

“I understand what it means to be a true Pittsburgh Steeler,” Ward said. “Being honored at the dinner means something because it reflects what I do outside of football, too. Even though we are not paid to be role models, we are role models.”

Standing on the corner of Wylie Avenue and Elmore Street in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Franco Harris looks across the street at the names of jazz legends etched on the Legacy senior building—Billy Eckstine, Erroll Garner, Earl “Fatha” Hines—and starts nodding his head.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT—Members of the group that bought the Crawford Grill in February include, from left: Robert Meeder, Greg Spencer, Jules Matthews, Victor Rogue, Dwight Mayo, Franco Harris and William Generett.

“This is a good corner,” the Hall-of-Famer said. “You stand here and your head just starts bopping up and down. This is such a historic site that the preservation and history of it has to live on. So the question is, how do we do that? Well, the first step is to buy this building—so we did.”

The building Harris is referring to is the Crawford Grill, a Hill mecca for jazz that closed in 2003. He is among a group of four private investors and three nonprofits that purchased the property in February. The others include Randall Industries founder Greg Spencer, Transportation Solutions owner Dwight Mayo, former Fisher Scientific CEO Bill Recker; Pittsburgh Gateways, The Keystone Innovation Zone and The Hill House Economic Development Corp.

The Pittsburgh Public School District is now working to address a decline in female participation in athletics after a presentation earlier this month by a consultant who conducted an audit of the district’s compliance with Title IX, a law that requires equal opportunities for both males and females in education programs or activities that are federally funded, i.e. high school athletic programs. The audit found that there is a significant difference in the number of female athletes compared to male athletes.

DASHAWNA CAREY, a senior at Perry High School, was the top female basketball player in the city this year.

“We are always looking to improve,” said Michael Gavlik, director of Interscholastic Athletics for the Pittsburgh Public School District. “The school district requested the audit to see where it stood and what improvements needed to be made.” Reluctant to speak, Gavlik added that each school is different and their needs vary, but what remains important is making sure their facilities are maintained and that students are equipped with what they need.

When hired, his title was slots manager, but that was only because the Rivers Casino hadn’t been approved for table games. That approval is expected shortly from the Gaming Control Board, meaning Corey Plummer is the Rivers’ new vice president of gaming, the highest ranking African-American in the company.

COREY PLUMMER

Plummer served as the vice president of slots at Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs, Calif., prior to joining Rivers Casino. He has broad management experience having worked for Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., opened Native American properties and managed gaming and casino marketing domestically and internationally. He also held executive positions with SKYCITY Casinos in Australia and New Zealand. Plummer began his career in the gaming industry with Harrah’s Entertainment.