Students who attend tonight’s performance by Christian entertainer Steve McGranahan at Brownsboro High School will receive gift certificates for ice cream at Sonic, Perry Involvement Coordinator Perry Eaton said.

“Every school-age kid is going to get a certificate. We’ve got 1,000 of them.”

To go with the ice cream, 1,000 hot dogs and another 1,000 sodas will be served at the event hosted by the Brownsboro Independent School District.

McGranahan, “the world’s strongest redneck,” will talk to students about staying in school and to parents about supporting those efforts.

A self-proclaimed “redneck to the bone,” McGranahan is six feet tall and weighs 375 pounds. Using his hands, he achieves feats of strength by ripping 11 decks of cards, bending spikes, and dead-lifting almost 600 pounds.

He has run several marathons and performed in other athletic events.

“His super-human strength alone could open the doors of fame and for- tune, but there is more to Steve McGranahan than a powerful body, a pretty face, and a riotous sense of humor,” his Web site says. “The World’s Strongest Redneck actually takes his position of role model to hundreds of thousands of people, both young and not so young, seriously.”

McGanahan has appeared on such shows as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CMT’s Country Fried Home Videos, and Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge, and has performed stand-up comedy and conducted motivational speeches around the country.

Eaton, who operates Bear Radio and helps run an English course for Spanish speaking adults, met McGranahan about a year ago during one of the performer’s acts.

He said he asked McGranahan to bring his message to Brownsboro, calling his achievements “amazing.”

Tonight’s event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the high school’s gym. Admission is free, and the hot dogs and sodas will be provided at no charge.

Brownsboro area businesses are sponsoring the event.

Eaton has been with the Brownsboro Independent School District since October 2006. A musician and evangelist, he is pastor of Lake Community Baptist Church in Flint.

He spent more than 13 years with Dogwood Baptist Church in Athens as music and youth minister before he resigned in 2006, and is the founding developer of PowerPlus Youth Camps.

Visit stevemcgranahan. com.