A former National Football League player will tackle the bullying issue as part of a free motivational speech at Palmerton Area High School.

"An Evening with Joe Ehrmann" will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the high school auditorium.Ehrmann will speak on "How Sports can Transform Lives," in an effort to educate the community on the real meaning of sports and the message they should be receiving from coaches and teachers.He will talk about his concepts of transformational leadership, coaching, team-building and mentoring, all key features in his published book, "InSideOut coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives."Ehrmann was an All-American football player at Syracuse University, and was named to SU's All-Century Football Team.Originally drafted as the 10th pick in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft out of Syracuse University to the Baltimore Colts, Ehrmann played professional football for 13 years.Ehrmann was also selected as the Colts Man of the Year, and the NFL's first Ed Block Courage Award Winner.During and following his football career, Ehrmann attended Dallas Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary, and was ordained in 1985.Parade Magazine featured Ehrmann on its cover as The Most Important Coach in America because of his tireless efforts to transform the culture of sports by reframing and redefining the social responsibility of coaches, parents and players.He was also named Coach of the Year by the National Consortium for Academics & Sports.The Institute for International Sport named Ehrmann one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America. He is the subject of The New York Times best-seller "Season of Life" by Jeffrey Marx, published by Simon and Schuster.Ehrmann and his wife Paula, a psychotherapist, co-founded Building Men and Women for Others, whose vision is to create a society where everyone can reach his or her greatest human potential.They also created Coach for America to inform, inspire and initiate individual, communal and societal change through sports and coaching.The Ehrmanns also co-founded The Door, an inner-city, community-based ministry that addresses issues of poverty, systemic racism and social justice. Ehrmann is the co-founder of Baltimore's Ronald McDonald House, which since its inception has served over 35,000 families from all over the world.The Baltimore Business Journal selected Joe as the Renaissance Person of the Decade for his dedication and commitment to Baltimore City's betterment. He was also selected as the Frederick Douglas National Man of the Year Award for empowering male youth and the institutions that serve them to work as allies with women in preventing rape and other forms of male violence.The recipient of the National Fatherhood Initiative's Man of the Year Award, Ehrmann has been honored for his work to improve the well-being of children by helping fathers become more involved, responsible and committed to their families.Coach for America is a division of Building Men and Women for Others Inc.The event is sponsored by the Bo Tkach Foundation. All are welcome to attend. For information call Jim Tkach at 484-225-2706.