Giroux named Aeros' winner of American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year
April 5, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release
HOUSTON, Texas â The Houston Aeros are proud to announce that Ray Giroux has been named the Aeros' winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Houston community and charitable organizations during the 2004-05 season.
Giroux, in his seventh pro season and first with the Aeros, is a fixture both on the ice and off in Houston. On the ice, Giroux is an alternate captain and leads the team's defensemen in scoring. Off the ice, Giroux has been involved in the Houston community from day one.
Among Giroux's many community appearances were After School All Stars, the Houston Veteran's Hospital during Veteran's Day week, MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Sunshine Kids House. In addition, Giroux volunteers at the Open Door Mission, serving food to the homeless on his own time.
Giroux, a Yale product and former Hobey Baker finalist, and fellow defensemen and alternate captain Todd Reirden teamed up this season to form "Ray and Reirden's Rooters". Giroux and Reirden purchase a block of lower level corner seats, where the Aeros enter the ice, and donate them to a children's charity each and every home game. Each child receives a yellow "Ray and Reirden's Rooters" t-shirt that includes their jersey numbers on the back.
Among the charities to receive tickets thanks to Giroux and Reirden's generosity are the Leukemia Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Golden Boys Adolescent Home, Child Advocates and Homes with Home. In addition to the tickets, the group is brought to the locker room area, where the two players and their teammates visit with the children and give autographs. Each group gets an autographed stick.
Giroux and Reirden also joined all of their teammates, and some team doctors, to purchase more than 700 tickets to donate to charities for a December 23 pre-Christmas game.
In recognition of his efforts, Giroux will be presented with an etched crystal trophy during an on-ice presentation prior to an upcoming Aeros home game.
Giroux 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.
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