SNOQUALMIE – Former National Football League player and Fall City resident Kevin Gogan is often asked to talk about his football career, but he seemed more comfortable discussing the virtues of a good education at a breakfast held by the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation last week at Mount Si High School.

“Education is going to be the most important thing for my kids,” said Gogan, who played professionally for 14 years, winning two Super Bowls and playing in three Pro Bowls. “This foundation has worked hard to make that happen.”

The foundation, which was started in 1988, has raised more than $175,000 for school programs throughout the district. The foundation receives all of its money through donations, and spends nothing on administrative costs.

Although Gogan grew up in San Francisco, he played for the University of Washington Huskies. Gogan explained he got involved with the district when he and his wife had their first child 11 years ago and were looking for a place to raise their family. They chose Fall City.

Although playing in several NFL cities – among them Dallas, Oakland, San Francisco, Miami and San Diego – and raising a family was tough, Gogan said the school district always did its best to make it easy for his three children.

“They [the teachers] did role call every day to make sure my kids felt at home,” he said. “How many schools would do that?”

Gogan personally thanked many members of the audience that he had met and volunteered with for the school district, and likened the district’s staff to the successful players he got to know while playing professional football.

“Guys that did well in the NFL did so because their work ethic was tremendous,” he said. “Teachers here have that same attitude.”

Although Gogan only briefly touched on personal moments from his NFL career, he did end with a story about himself and a fellow lineman being the subjects of pranks by their team’s punter during training camp.

“The thing about punters and kickers on NFL teams is that no one likes them,” he said. “You can’t mess with guys that don’t do anything all day.”

Foundation Treasurer Vicki Anderson ended the breakfast, exhorting the crowd to support not only the schools but the community as a whole.

“Strong schools help the community as much as the children,” Anderson said. “We want it all.”