Katy ISD will hold its annual salute to volunteers on April 23 at the Merrell Center, 6301 S. Stadium Lane in Katy. The event begins at 8:30 a.m. and is free to attend. Preregistration is required; to RSVP for the event, please go to katyisd.org/page/8135.

The featured speaker will be Mike Van Hoozer, a leadership expert and sports performance coach. According to his website, Van Hoozer is a graduate of Baylor University and a former Senior Executive with Accenture with over 30 years of consulting experience with small and large companies helping to develop high performance individuals, teams, and organizations. In sports, he works as a peak performance coach to high school, college, and professional athletes, coaches, and teams including NBA, NFL, and MLB players including members of the 2005 World Series’ Houston Astros team helping them develop focus, mental toughness, confidence, and improved mental recovery time as well as guiding them through career development and transitions. He also created and leads the “Developing Leaders in Sports and Life” leadership development program for student athletes at Rice University which just completed its 6th year. He also created the Van Hoozer Basketball Academy to help develop leaders on and off the court and prepare players for high school, college, and beyond.

According to the Katy ISD website, Volunteers in Public Schools is by far the largest of the district’s Partners in Education programs, bringing community members as well as parents and family members onto every Katy ISD campus for the purpose of supporting both students and staff. Over 22,000 volunteers have donated more than one million hours –the equivalent of ten extra staff members at every campus.