Carkner Named Barons "American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year"
April 5, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
CLEVELAND â The Cleveland Barons are proud to announce that Matt Carkner has been named the Barons winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Cleveland community and charitable organizations during the 2004-05 season. This is the second consecutive season that Carkner has been honored with the award.
In his four-year career with the Barons, Carkner has become one of the most community-oriented athletes in Northeast Ohio. During his tenure with the San Jose Sharks' affiliate, the Barons Captain has been a finalist for the prestigious Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Community Award the past two years.
In December, Matt and his wife Kary organized the second annual "Carkner's Christmas". The Carkners' partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cleveland and purchase Christmas presents for "level-4 needs" children. (A "level-4 needs" child lacks the necessities that are needed for day-to-day life.) The Carkners' then assign one child to each member of the Barons team to purchase the gifts on the child's "needs-and-wants" list. Matt and Kary, along with other Barons players, deliver the presents in person to four schools over a two-day period.
In March, the Carkners' again formulated a unique way to help the Greater Cleveland community through the inaugural "Clip Carkner's Curls for Cancer." Fans purchased raffle tickets from Kary and Matt for the opportunity to shave Matt's head at center ice following the Barons home game on March 26th. All of the funds raised from the raffle were then donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Adding to Carkner's amazing philanthropic resume, he serves on the Board of Directors for "A Night with the Cleveland Barons", a dinner auction that raises funds for the Doug Dieken Foundation. The Doug Dieken Foundation is the primary support for the Cleveland Special Olympics Program. An added feature in the live auction this year was the chance to bid on "Dinner and a Movie with the Carkners".
In recognition of his efforts, Carkner will be presented with an etched crystal trophy during an on-ice presentation prior to an upcoming Barons home game.
Carkner is now one of 28 finalists for the 2004-05 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia.
The Barons host Syracuse this Friday night at 7:00pm on the National City Rink located in Gund Arena. The first 3,000 fans at the game will receive an authentically autographed action photo of Barons rookie forward Shane Joseph. For ticket information call the Cleveland Barons Front Office at 216.420.0000 or Crash the Net at www.clevelandbarons.net.
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