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Samuel Landis Named Honorary Lacrosse Captain at Eagles Final Home Game
Samuel Landis, a former lacrosse player in his teens and once a homeless man in Cincinnati for 20 years, returned to the lacrosse field on Wednesday evening, May 9th, as an Honorary Captain of the Milford Eagles High School Boys Lacrosse team. Sam joined the team for the pre-game speech in the locker room, assisted in the coin toss on the field, was presented with his own Milford Eagles lacrosse stick and joined other members of Maslow’s Army, an organization he co-founded with his wife Susan, at halftime for a presentation on behalf of the Milford Lacrosse Foundation.
Earlier this year one of the Milford middle school lacrosse coaches wrote a prayer as a reminder to himself that he needed to do more. Several terms used in lacrosse, 14 of them, were incorporated into the prayer. The coach thought of Sam and his organization as the prayer was written even though he had never met Sam. Last week that prayer was shared with Sam on The National Day of Prayer and an invitation extended to Sam to attend the game. The coach thought Sam may have never been to a lacrosse game and wanted to invite him as his guest. As it turns out, Sam is a former lacrosse player and things unfolded from there.
The organization started by Sam and Susan with help from others, is Maslow’s Army. Started in early 2017, Maslow’s Army helps those in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky battling homelessness, mental health issues and addiction. Since the inception of Maslow’s Army, the members and volunteers supporting the cause have served over 100,000 meals to those in need on Fountain Square and have handed out over 17,000 copies of basic needs guides, which include resource information for food, clothing, shelter and employment opportunities in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Several of their regular volunteers come from Milford High School.
At halftime, members of Maslow’s Army joined players from the Milford Middle School girls and boys program as a check was presented from the Milford Lacrosse Foundation for $2,000 to assist Maslow’s Army in their current and future efforts to help others. Stu Brown with the Foundation, said the donation was made possible by the generosity of the Coaches and Administrators that are part of the Milford Lacrosse Foundation and lacrosse community. Head Coach Brian Cross, with the Milford Eagles Varsity Lacrosse team, said he and his team were honored to be a part of the event and wanted to thank the Milford School system and Athletic Director Mark Trout for their support as well.
This article was written by guest columnist Chris Johnstone and photos provided by JJ Huston, with JJ Huston Photography
