With winter coming, it was time for the Central Blair Recreation and Park Commission to announce a new batch of honorees for its annual Community Classic Dinner and Auction, which will take place Feb. 29 — at the Bavarian Hall, as usual.

The featured speaker for the upcoming 11th Classic will be Charlie Batch, former quarterback for the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Respected Citizen award will go to Andrea Cohen, vice president of community relations for Lakemont Park and a member of the family that developed the Blair Companies complex of businesses over the last 70 years.

“We always look at the Steelers,” when deciding whom to pursue for the keynote address, said CBRC Executive Director Mike Hofer. “That’s the sweet spot for our bigger crowds.”

Batch’s name came up when talking with Rocco Scalzi of the Beating the Odds Foundation, Hofer said.

“He’s a great speaker and still connected with the Steelers,” Hofer said.

Born in Homestead, he went to Steel Valley High School, then Eastern Michigan, then played for the Lions from 1998 to 2001 and the Steelers from 2002-12, according to an online source.

He works for KDKA as a pregame Steelers analyst and as the color commentator for preseason games, according to the source.

Batch and his wife have done lots of charitable work in western Pennsylvania, Hofer said.

The committee that chooses the Respected Citizen award includes previous winners and members of the Booker T. Washington Revitalization Corp., said Hofer.

“We throw names against the wall,” he said. “It’s always hard to narrow it down.”

Cohen’s name was prominent in discussions for the upcoming event largely for her role in the recent re-establishment of Lakemont Park, which has transitioned from an amusement venue to a multi-purpose facility that can host concerts and other community events, that has retained the pool and the lake and a couple traditional amusement rides, while adding facilities for participatory sports like basketball, volleyball and miniature golf. She did lots of work behind the scenes, Hofer said. She’s also worked for many years with Blair Companies, the family business started by her grandfather and largely developed by her father, the late Don Devorris.

The Rec Commission will try to sell 500 tickets, Hofer said. If the demand is there, the room can hold up to 525 attendees, he said.