Some of us are dedicated enough to assist others through hands-on work and direct deed, while some of us assist through the provision of major charitable gifts.  A very select, special few among us have the capacity, fortitude, and commitment to do both.  To honor Kelly Crawford's father, 1950s television series icon and Academy Award winner Broderick Crawford, in perpetuity, and to support the 11-99 Foundation's death and emergency benefits program, Kelly and his wife Jean have become Charter Members of the 11-99 Foundation's Bob Weinberg Legacy Society.  This major gift planning body was launched in 2007 to honor our Founder, Bob Weinberg, and ensure the 11-99 Foundation’s existence in perpetuity, through the cultivation and acquisition of major planned gifts.  In gratitude for the Crawfords’ new multi-million dollar estate gift, the members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors are in the process of naming our foremost assistance program the Broderick Crawford Benefits Program.

From 1955 to 1959, Kelly’s father, Broderick Crawford, starred as Chief Dan Mathews in the enormously popular and widely influential television series Highway Patrol. "Brod," as he was known to family members and close friends, was born in 1911 and died in 1987.  Before becoming a television star, he made his mark acting on stage and the Hollywood big screen, winning an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1949, for his role as "Willie Stark," in All the King’s Men. Kelly’s and Jean’s generous gift will ensure that their names, and Broderick Crawford’s name and legacy, will live on in direct complement with the CHP 11-99 Foundation’s benefits program.

When Kelly contacted the 11-99 Foundation to share his unsolicited estate gift decision with a member of our staff, he quietly, but very firmly insisted that his primary desire was to honor his father, by preserving his name in ongoing association with the CHP 11-99 Foundation.  The grateful members of the 11-99 Foundation’s Board of Directors have committed themselves to honoring Brod by assuring his name will live on through the Broderick Crawford Benefits Program.

Sporting a uniquely gravelly voice, Highway Patrol Chief Dan Mathews often was featured wielding his radio’s handset and saying "21-50 to headquarters…, I’m coming home."  As a direct, tangible, and remarkably generous expression of his son Kelly Crawford’s enduring love and admiration for his father, Brod has indeed come home—he has come home to stay.