Hines Ward and President Obama assembled military care packages on the South Lawn of the White House on May 21, 2009.

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward, who caught a TD pass in Sunday’s win over Tamp Bay, is not ready to give up his day job. But he added a second job last week – one with a high-profile new boss. President Barack Obama named Ward to his Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Ward was sworn in on Sept. 21.

“He’s a terrific person,” Steelers owner Dan Rooney said of Ward. “This is a wonderful honor for him and a wonderful honor for our organization.”

Rooney unfortunately couldn’t be at the ceremony. Like Ward, he also works for President Obama. He is the U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

Ward’s humanitarian goal is what he referred to as “enlightenment” of biracial kids. Ward – who was born in Seoul, South Korea, to a Korean mother and American father — has already given $1 million to this cause. With his foundation, he has returned to Korea each offseason since 2006 to mentor biracial children. He also brings Korean kids to stay with American families for a week during football season.

Ward is not letting this honor affect his day job. In Week 1, he made his 900th career reception and had 106 receiving yards in a win over Atlanta. His touchdown Sunday against the Buccaneers was the 60th of his career, tying former teammate Jerome Bettis for second on the Steelers’ all-time list.

– Tiffany Shine

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