She's just exited sixth-grade, somewhat to her dismay, but Brittney Day already knows what she wants in life.

The 12-year-old from Highlands Junior School - "HJS for short," she's quick to tell anyone who asks - loves to sing. And act. And talk on the phone. She's written two country songs for her band, the Crazy Cousins Band.

Two nights ago, a friend forgot her lines during a choir concert, so Day performed an improptu solo in front of more than 1,000 people.

"She was nervous and she forgot her words," Day said. "So I had to take over for her."

And come June 7 at Stallworth Stadium, she'll be the Queen of the Bayou Bowl.

But her mother believes without Shriners, none of this might be happening.

"Without their hospitals, I don't know how much she'd be able to do," Mendy Day said Friday during the Bayou Bowl Celebrity Golf Outing.

For the second consecutive year, Brittney and Mendy Day were the Shriners' guests of honor for the outing at Goose Creek Country Club in Baytown.

Brittney Day was a Princess at the Bayou Bowl in 2007. When representatives asked her if she'd like to be Queen, her answer was quick:

"Sure."

All Bayou Bowl proceeds benefit Shriners hospitals.

Brittney was born with several muscle-related maladies, including severe scoliosis, arthrogryposis (a congenital disorder causing multiple joint contractures) and Escobar Syndrome. She's endured a handful of operations, including a tethered cord release four years ago to clear her spinal cord from spinal bones, and has undergone physical therapy most of her life.

"When I was pregnant doctors did several ultrasounds and we noticed she wasn't moving. She didn't turn; she stayed breech," Mendy Day said. "I had her at Hermann Hospital (on Jan. 24, 1996) and on the second day doctors mentioned taking her to a Shriners hospital.

"She started walking when she was two and she underwent therapy until she was six or eight months old."

Brittney lives a mostly normal life but has difficulty performing several tasks, such as brushing and washing her hair and tying her shoes. She can't raise her arms much above her shoulders.

Her lungs have limited capacity, "6 or 8" on a scale of 1 being best and 10 worst, Mendy said, which makes being outside for prolonged periods on hot days like Friday difficult.

Thirty-three celebrity golfers, ranging from former Rockets and Oilers to college football players and coaches, participated Friday to make this the largest celebrity outing ever, Bayou Bowl officials said.

The golfers included former Oilers Jim Bierne, Charlie Frazier, Dan Pastorini and Alvin Reed, University of Houston football coach Kevin Sumlin and brothers/University of Texas Hall of Famers Charlie and Don Talbert.

"We're just one of the organizations that benefits from Shriners," said Pete Alfaro, Chairman of the Bayou Bowl Committee and former Baytown mayor (1993-2004). "All the great things they do cost nothing to the people they serve. ... When you results with people (who receive the money), you put a face to where the money goes. It's so significant for us."

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What is a Shriner?

A member of a U.S. secret fraternal order that is not Masonic but that admits only Knights Templars and 32nd-degree Masons as members.
***
Celebrity golfers

The full list of participants in Friday's Bayou Bowl Celebrity Golf Outing at Goose Creek Country Club in Baytown:

Jermaine Alfred, Baytown Lee graduate, former Baylor quarterback
Jim Bierne, Oilers receiver (1968-74)
Ed Biles, former Oilers coach
Booker T, former world heavyweight wrestling champion
Brett Boyd, new Goose Creek Memorial football coach
Chris Carrier, former LSU and NFL player
Jim Creech, 2003 Bayou Bowl winning coach
Carroll Dawson, Rockets general manager
Reggie Dixon, former Harlem Globetrotter
Charlie Frazier, former NFL receiver (Oilers, New England Patriots)
Reid Gettys, U. of Houston basketball player
Ton Herman, offensive coordinator, Rice football
Todd Hveem, Houston Chronicle
Chris Massey, Deer Park football coach
Randy McIlvoy, KPRC-TV sports director
Charlie Millstead, former Oilers player (1959-62)
Calvin Murphy, former Rocket, KFNC-FM host
Craig Naivar, defensive coordinator, Rice football
Dick Olin, Baytown Lee football coach
Dan Pastorini, former Oilers quarterback
Bryan Pittman, Texans long snapper
Alvin Reed, former NFL tight end (Oilers, Washington Redskins)
Robert Reid, former Rocket
Ross Rogers, former high school football coach
Howard Sampson, Baytown Sterling graduate, former Green Bay Packer
Clint Stoerner, Baytown Lee graduate, former Arkansas and Dallas Cowboys quarterback
Kevin Sumlin, head football coach, University of Houston
Charlie Talbert, former University of Texas receiver, UT Hall of Famer
Don Talbert, UT All-American, former NFL player (Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons)
Don Trull, former Oilers quarterback
Termite Watkins, former Golden Glove champion
Brandon Williams, Nike
Bill Worrell, Rockets play-by-announcer for My 20/FSN Houston

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