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FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Titans 2008 Community Man of the Year David Thornton continued his dedication to the community by holding the first annual "D1 Iron Sharpens Iron David Thornton Defensive Skills Camp", Thursday at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tenn. The camp was open to the public, included D1 members, area youth from the Martha O'Bryan Center and Park Avenue Elementary; two places where Thornton spends a lot of his time working with youth.
The camp was open to children ages 7-17 and included over 115 participants, featured six hours of expert instructions from Thornton, some of his Titans teammates, local high school coaches and D1 training experts. In addition to football, the camp also heavily focused on character-building instruction and life skills: off which Thornton feels goes hand-in-hand with football.
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A true ambassador in the community through his service, Thornton has held a camp the last few years in his hometown of Goldsboro, NC with this year's camp being the first in Nashville. From participating in the day long camp, all campers received lunch, a camp t-shirt, camp poster and a Bible. By giving them the Bible, Thornton hopes it has an impact on the campers long after the day they got to meet the Titans star.
"I gave every kid out here today a Bible and told them that that's my game-plan for life," tHORNTON SAID. "It's what keeps me and that's was my goal for today: have every kid leave here with the keys to success.
"Being a champ is what I hope the participants took away from today's camp. Being a champion on and off the field, understanding what it means to be a person of great character and doing the right things even when no one is watching."
