Philadelphia Eagles |

Eagles Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins brings the passion to LifePath/PICPA banquet in Fogelsville

One of things that made Brian Dawkins a Hall of Fame safety in the NFL was his sense of timing.

Dawkins, who played pro football for 16 seasons, most of them with the Eagles, knew where to be and when to be there to make plays in the secondary.

Now 51, Dawkins still has a knack for good timing.

In the same week that Lehigh Valley native Saquon Barkley had one of the best games in Eagles history, Dawkins was in the area on Wednesday afternoon to serve as the keynote speaker at the 27th annual LifePath PICPA (Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs) Thanksgiving Benefit Luncheon at the Delta Hotel in Breinigsville.

There was an E-A-G-L-E-S chant in the crowd of more than 700 before Dawkins took the podium and thousands of dollars were raised in an auction in which Dawkins- and Barkley-signed memorabilia were the centerpiece.

But while he was speaking in front of a green-lighted backdrop, Dawkins didn’t talk about the current Eagles, the past Eagles, particular plays, coaches, teams or games.

Previous speakers at this event have included Mike Schmidt, Steve Garvey, Dick Vermeil, Mike Ditka, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Bill Walton and many others, but few brought the passion of Dawkins

He talked about his life experiences and his journey on what he called his own life path and brought the same intensity to the audience that he used to bring to the Eagles defense. On Thanksgiving eve and the start of the holiday season, Dawkins again displayed perfect timing.

Prior to his speech he toured the LifePath facility in Bethlehem. LifePath’s philosophy is to provide “the highest quality of services to people needing specialized support through the blending of professional knowledge, arts and skills in an environment of unconditional respect and dignity.”

Dawkins said of the LifePath workers: “That is a gift to be able to have that energy and patience and love for individuals. When individuals get into that field, that is a gift given to them. That’s something that some people just have. You can’t force them to do what they do. It’s a blessing.”

In talking about his own life path, Dawkins said: “I’ve thought about how many people and how many situations that the Lord has put in my space in order for me to become the man that I have become, to become the man I became. Yes, to play the game of football, but more importantly, to become the man I am. These individuals will never truly understand what they gave me.”

Dawkins, 51, grew up Jacksonville, Florida, and was one of the smallest kids in the neighborhood.

“I always thought I had to outwork everybody and I was always angry,” he said. “I felt I had to work for everything I had. That’s a part of me. That’s part of my DNA, my character.

“Sometimes that part of me would go to the wrong end and that was something I needed help to control. You see me now and hopefully you see a disciplined person. That’s the way I go about doing things. I make sure that I’m strong, mentally, physically and spiritually. Different individuals helped to sharpen me and to instill the character and integrity that I have. My father taught me that when you start something, you finish it. You give max effort even when you don’t want to be there. He told me to be coachable and that started in little league. They had me play a position I didn’t want to play.  I started out at running back and that’s where I wanted to say, and they made me a center.

“I wanted to quit, but I couldn’t quit. I couldn’t have a bad attitude. I had to give max effort. My mom taught me to fight. She said you don’t start a fight, but you finish the fight.

“So, that goes in close proximity to what my dad taught me. And my high school basketball coach gave me a steel-clad mindset. We ran so much that I think we ran more than the track team. Guess who was pacing everyone? Guess who had to go hard? Guess who wouldn’t quit even though he wanted to a lot of the time. You can’t break me. My body will will break before my mind goes.”

Dawkins was moving along so quickly with his presentation that he lost his train of thought at one point, but the audience never got off the train and explained that he once had a stuttering issue and didn’t enjoy public speaking.

But now he considers it a blessing to be a professional speaker and does a lot of engagements for his Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation, which was founded in 2019 and is designed to promote the “the power of transformative moments to trigger a spark in young people – young people who have the desire to make positive decisions in life and just need the tools to make it happen.”

“Ultimately, I am here and when I am uncomfortable and I’m not feeling it at all, here’s what I think about,” he said. “I think about those young, smiling faces that are looking back at me. I think about the single parent, the mother with tears in her eyes because her child is able to do something they wouldn’t be able to do without support.”

On a day designed to give thanks, Dawkins gave his fans some important things to think about.

In addition to Dawkins, the PNC Family of the Year award went to the families of the Tikvah House — David and Clara Bergstein, Lawrence and Eva Levitt and Norman and Jett Sarachek. The PICPA Community Service Award went to Tony Iannelli, president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and the LifePath Employee Compass Award was given to Dawn Soos.