KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan alumnus and current CEO and General Manager of the Detroit Tigers, Dave Dombrowski, will be the keynote speaker for the inaugural Bronco baseball Leadoff Dinner, Jan. 27, 2011. The event will be held at the Cityscape Center in downtown Kalamazoo.

Doors open at 5 p.m., with a chance to bid on silent auction items and an autograph session by the 2011 Western Michigan team. Dinner will convene at approximately 6 p.m., with the program to follow. A cash bar will also be made available.

Individual tickets are $75 and corporate sponsor tables of 10 are $750. Attendees can sponsor a Bronco player meal for $50. Attire is business casual. Ticket holders will also receive a commemorative gift and a Bronco baseball poster.

A 1978 Western Michigan graduate, Dombrowski was named president of the Detroit Tigers in 2001 and assumed the role of general manager in 2002. He earned Baseball America's Executive of the Year honors in 2006 as the Tigers finished with a 95-67 record and advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1984.

Dombrowski was also the architect of the 1997 World Series Champion Florida Marlins and served as the general manager for the Montreal Expos. He began his professional baseball career with the Chicago White Sox in 1978, shortly after leaving Western Michigan. Dombrowski received a degree in business administration from WMU and was the recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998.

For more information on the Leadoff Dinner, contact Stacy Vallier at (269) 387-3062 or stacy.vallier@wmich.edu. To register for the event, download the PDF, or register online at the top of this page.