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September 3, 2011 (Washington D.C.) – President Barack Obama will honor East County’s hometown hero, Jimmie Johnson, in a ceremony at the White House next Wednesday.
Johnson will be honored not only for his record fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, but also for the efforts of Johnson and NASCAR to “give back to their community,” according to a White House press release.
Johnson will be joined by past NASCAR Sprint Cup champions and competitors, as well as wounded soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and campers from the Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally or chronically ill children, which the Jimmie Johnson Foundation helps to support.
An El Cajon native and graduate of Granite Hills High School, the NASCAR champion established the Jimmie Johnson Foundation which has awarded more than $1.5 million to public schools, including 11 local schools as well as schools in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Funds from the Foundation helped renovate Granite Hills’ stadium and provided funds for science, technology and arts programs at Crest Elementary, as well as reading programs and more.
The foundation also supports charities including Habitat for Humanity, Hendrick Marrow Program, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Victory Junction. . In 2007, Johnson opened Jimmie Johnson’s Victory Lanes in North Carolina, a bowling center for campers at the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Every year Johnson’s foundation holds a golf tournament in San Diego,[ which raises money to build Habitat for Humanity homes in Johnson's hometown.The tournament has raised a total of $2 million to help fund several projects. The foundation has also assisted the American Red Cross with disaster relief efforts. Most recently, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention was added to a list of charitable beneficiaries. Other causes supported include those working on behalf of autism and ALS patients, the Family Crisis Resource Center of Cumberland, Maryland,a nd the Lollipop Theater Network.
“We are most proud of you,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob told Johnson in a 2009 ceremony at Lowe’s in Santee, which sponsors Johnson’s racing career. “Besides the greatness you’ve achieved, you’ve given back to your community—you haven’t forgotten your roots.” The San Diego County Board of Supervisors named December 1st , 2009 “Jimmie Johnson” day in his honor.
Santee Mayor Randy Voepel presented Johnson with keys to the city during that event, calling Johnson a “hometown hero.”
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