Hornets Believe: Shinn Makes Annual Birthday Visit to Newborns
By: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
May 12, 2009
New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn’s favorite joke he plays on new fathers goes something like this: Shinn walks into a hospital room and greets a new mother holding her newborn baby. Shinn compliments the mother on the cuteness of the infant, then turns to the dad seated nearby and says “I’ll tell you what, it’s a good thing the baby looks like their mother!”
The fathers always laugh and get a kick out of Shinn’s kidding, though a few are a bit startled to see the owner of an NBA team walk into their room. Here’s a heads-up to parents in the New Orleans area, though: If you have a child born on May 11 of any future year, there’s always a chance that Shinn may be paying you a visit.
On Tuesday, Shinn continued his annual tradition of delivering gifts to NOLA babies who were born on Monday and therefore now share Shinn’s birthday of May 11. As part of the yearly celebration, he presented May 11 mothers at the Ochsner Hospital on Jefferson Highway with $100 gift cards from Babies ‘R’ Us, a Hugo the Hornet doll, flowers, a gift set from Bath & Body Works and candy boxes. May 11 fathers each received a Hornets hat. Mothers who’d given birth over the previous three days also received multiple gifts from Shinn.
“I grew up in a tough situation when I was young,” Shinn says, explaining his motivation for being active in the community, including his annual birthday event. “I realized that there were a lot of people who helped me, or else I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“I feel like it’s very important for me to reach out and help others. And I love this community and I like to be involved. I think it helps us as a business, and certainly it helps me as a human being. I think it’s critical for our success as an organization, and for mine as a human being, to give back to New Orleans.”
By: Jim Eichenhofer, Hornets.com
May 12, 2009
New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn’s favorite joke he plays on new fathers goes something like this: Shinn walks into a hospital room and greets a new mother holding her newborn baby. Shinn compliments the mother on the cuteness of the infant, then turns to the dad seated nearby and says “I’ll tell you what, it’s a good thing the baby looks like their mother!”
The fathers always laugh and get a kick out of Shinn’s kidding, though a few are a bit startled to see the owner of an NBA team walk into their room. Here’s a heads-up to parents in the New Orleans area, though: If you have a child born on May 11 of any future year, there’s always a chance that Shinn may be paying you a visit.
On Tuesday, Shinn continued his annual tradition of delivering gifts to NOLA babies who were born on Monday and therefore now share Shinn’s birthday of May 11. As part of the yearly celebration, he presented May 11 mothers at the Ochsner Hospital on Jefferson Highway with $100 gift cards from Babies ‘R’ Us, a Hugo the Hornet doll, flowers, a gift set from Bath & Body Works and candy boxes. May 11 fathers each received a Hornets hat. Mothers who’d given birth over the previous three days also received multiple gifts from Shinn.
“I grew up in a tough situation when I was young,” Shinn says, explaining his motivation for being active in the community, including his annual birthday event. “I realized that there were a lot of people who helped me, or else I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“I feel like it’s very important for me to reach out and help others. And I love this community and I like to be involved. I think it helps us as a business, and certainly it helps me as a human being. I think it’s critical for our success as an organization, and for mine as a human being, to give back to New Orleans.”
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