Front Row is TLU's annual athletics fundraiser with proceeds from the event helping fund the University's 19 intercollegiate sports. This year, the 19th edition of the auction gala will be held on Saturday, March 11 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Hotel Conference Center where former MLB Pitcher Joe Smith and TNT Sports Journalist Allie LaForce will share the stage with CBS-TV sportscaster, TLU alumnus, and regent emeritus Verne Lundquist.
As is the Front Row tradition, Lundquist will conduct a live, on-stage interview with Smith and LaForce where they will talk about their respective careers in professional sports as well as their journey establishing HelpCureHD, a charity supporting families and helping eradicate Huntington's Disease.
Joe Smith
MLB veteran, Joe Smith, has played in the Major Leagues for the past sixteen years. Born in Cincinnati, Joe has played for the Cleveland Indians, NY Mets, LA Angels, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins.
His commitment to baseball has carried over, off the field, where him and his wife Allie started a national foundation, HelpCureHD, where they cure Huntington's Disease for generations, one family at a time. Joe's mother was diagnosed with HD in 2012, and passed away at just 61 years old. Joe made a promise to do everything in his power to make his mother’s life and all those suffering from the disease easier.
Allie LaForce
Allie LaForce, current TNT Sports reporter, and former CBS Sports reporter is as talented as she is passionate about being a part of the HelpCureHD team.
Allie and Joe have partnered with clinics around the country to help reach their dream of creating PGT-IVF HD free babies. The couple plans to use their colorful celebrity experiences to bring awareness to PGT-IVF and the cause they care so deeply about. Joe and Allie know that there is a long road ahead of them when it comes to helping those suffering with HD, but they are up for the challenge and going full steam ahead!
Allie was also a division one collegiate basketball player at Ohio University where she graduated from the Honors Tutorial College.
She was Miss Teen USA in 2005, where her passion for philanthropy began, as she helped raise over one million dollars in less than a year.
