The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team will hold its fifth annual Senior Salute on May 3 at Joey Buona's at 500 N. Water St.
Those planning to attend the free event must RSVP by April 30 to the UWM ticket office at (414) 229-5886 or uwmtix@uwm.edu.
The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. and will offer a chance for fans to celebrate the Panthers' 20-win 2011-12 season and thank seniors Ryan Allen, Tony Meier and Kaylon Williams for their contributions to the program.
Food will be provided, and there will also be a cash bar.
The event will also mark the kickoff of the Panther Basketball Final Four Raffle, with the winner claiming a trip to the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta.
Raffle tickets will go on sale that evening and remain on sale through the early part of the summer, with the winner drawn at the Milwaukee Basketball Golf Classic on July 16.
The event is also an opportunity for players and coaches to say thank you to the fans for their support.
Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.
A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.
To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.
Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.
In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.
Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.
