As a recipient of Dantley's generosity, I, along with several others who share an appreciation for Dantley's contributions on the court and in the community, launched this effort to express our gratitude. Fans 4 Dantley was established in March of 2000 with the mission of promoting Adrian Dantley's great contributions to the game of basketball as well as his charitable contributions to several communities where he has touched so many lives. We formed this organization to express our appreciation and to build momentum for Dantley to receive the honors he deserves, including induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Fans 4 Dantley was founded by Chris Thomas and is led by a board comprised of former Adrian Dantley Basketball Camp attendees and Dantley fans and boosters.

During the past three years, Fans 4 Dantley has lobbied the Hall of Fame and Utah Jazz. More than 2,500 people have signed our online petition. Many have joined us in rallies, letter writing campaigns and even in creating the world's largest petition form a 3-foot foot by 3-foot basketball that was sent to the Hall of Fame in support of Dantley in 2001.

Adrian Dantley was one of the most prolific basketball players of all time. Scoring 23,177 career points, he ranks 17th on the NBA all-time scoring list -- ahead of such greats as Larry Bird, Dr. J, Magic Johnson and Elgin Baylor. At 6-foot-5-inches, Dantley was a fierce competitor who dominated the game -- and much larger players -- with his quick first-step and array of post-up moves that earned him accolades including "one of the greatest post-up players of all-time," by NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain and "a ballet dancer in basketball sneakers" by Utah Jazz play-by-play announcer Hot Rod Huntley.

	About Chris Thomas Chris Thomas President Chris Thomas founded Fans 4 Dantley as a way of expressing his appreciation to Adrian Dantley for his meritorious service to Utah's youth. A six-year alum of Dantley's annual summer basketball camp, Chris feels indebted to A.D. for the lesson of life he learned on the hardwood. While reminiscing about his childhood experience of attending the camp, Chris had the idea of organizing a grass-roots effort to honor Dantley and influence the powers that be to give A.D. the respect he deserves. After receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from former camp attendees, people who knew Dantley and Utah Jazz fans, Chris founded Fans 4 Dantley in March of 2000. Thomas is an owner/officer of The Intrepid Group, a Salt Lake City-based public relations and marketing firm. He has more than a decade of experience working with organizations from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Thomas divides his time between developing and executing proactive campaigns - strategic public relations, corporate community relations, events and advertising - and providing leading crisis communication expertise and services. His crisis communication experience encompasses managing dozens of crises. His most high-profile work was serving as the official publicist for the Elizabeth Smart family during the 10-month period of her abduction and rescue. Before joining the Intrepid Group, Thomas directed partner relations for marchFIRST (USWeb/CKS), working out of its San Francisco and Salt Lake City offices. He was responsible for managing the firm's joint publicity efforts with companies representing some of the country's best known and respected brands. Prior to joining marchFIRST, Thomas worked for Publicis Dialog, where his clients included the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Chris is a former reporter and sports editor with the Park Record in Park City, Utah; and a reporter with the Davis County Clipper in Bountiful, Utah. He also has public relations experience working for the Atlanta Olympic Committee during the 1996 Games, and with the Salt Lake Olympic Bid and Organizing Committee. With the bid committee, his experience included assisting with media relations in Budapest, Hungary when Salt Lake was awarded the 2002 Games. Thomas has received several awards and honors, including recognition as one of the nation's top crisis communicators by PBI Media, as well as being depicted in the CBS mini series "The Elizabeth Smart Story." He is the recipient of the National Guard's Minuteman Award and was named one of "40 Rising Stars" by Utah Business magazine. Thomas earned a bachelor's degree in communication from Westminster College. He is a sought after speaker presenting regularly to groups throughout the country.
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