Townsend honored as alum of year

The UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association is honoring Raymond Townsend (UCLA, 1978) as its distinguished alumnus of the year. Townsend was a member of John Wooden’s 1975 national championship team.
Here’s more:

UCLA PILIPINO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION TO HONOR RAYMOND TOWNSEND ’78 AS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

First Pilipino NBA Basketball Player and Member of Coach John Wooden’s 1975 UCLA National Champions to be Honored at Annual Scholarship Fundraising Dinner

LOS ANGELES, CA (MARCH 31, 2009) – The Pilipino Alumni Association of the University of California, Los Angeles (PAA of UCLA) will host its 8th Annual Fundraising Benefit, “A Golden Foundation for the Hope of Our Future,” on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel. Proceeds will benefit the PAA of UCLA Scholarship Endowment, which recognizes outstanding student achievement through annual scholarship awards.

In addition to awarding 12 scholarships to deserving students, PAA will also be honoring distinguished UCLA alumni and community leaders for their outstanding accomplishments and considerable contributions to the community and to the University:

Distinguished Alumni of the Year
Raymond Townsend ’78 – First Pilipino NBA Basketball Player, Member of 1975 UCLA Basketball National Champions
A true pioneer among Pilipino athletes, Raymond Townsend played four seasons on the UCLA Basketball team, and was a member of legendary coach John Wooden’s 10th and final NCAA championship team in 1975. He went on to become a starting point guard and was named captain during his senior year. Raymond was selected in the first round of the 1978 National Basketball Association Draft. He played for the Golden State Warriors and the Indiana Pacers, becoming the first and only Pilipino American ever to play in the NBA. Raymond is now a youth sports development coordinator in San Jose, California.

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About Jill Painter

Jill Painter is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles News Group, covering everything from the Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, USC, UCLA, Kings, golf and all human interest stories in sports.