May 30 has been proclaimed Leon Bender Day in Santee, celebrating a local sports hero and his love for the community. "He was famous for his smile, his encouragement, acts of kindness and for never giving up," said Rob McNelis at the City Council meeting last week. Leon played football at Santana and made it to the NFL draft, something he had always dreamed of. He was drafted in the 2nd round to the Oakland Raiders. Unfortunately, three weeks after his draft, Leon suffered an epileptic seizure where he fell and crushed his windpipes and died. Read more about Leon Bender Day in Santee- http://santee.patch.com/groups/local-connections/p/perform-a-random-act-of-kindness-for-leon-bender-day and http://leonbender.blog.com/leon-bender-day/
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
