During the off-season, I find myself itching for new ways to connect with the community. As you know, I like to keep it interesting. With the help of a few friends and The Stephen Weatherly Foundation, we launched the Rep Your City Drawing Contest in February.

Many have a strong passion for their hometown or local city. I wanted to showcase this through art. With the Rep Your City Drawing Contest, we challenged artists from around the world to create a piece showcasing their city of choice with the Stephen Weatherly logo. I rallied some of my favorite art experts, A.J. Merriweather, Jenns Art Official, Nick Napoletano, Matt Hooker and Virginia Whitby to judge the contest. With the help of our judges and feedback on social media, we were able to award several finalists $500.

One winner received $5,000 and was able to give an additional $5,000 to the charity of their choice. The competition was tough but was thrilling to see the art submissions flow in.  This contest reminded me of why I work hard on the field to be able to give back off the field.