The Chicago Wolves are proud to announce Scooter Vaughan has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Chicago community during the 2017-18 season.
The 27-year-old Wolves forward earned the honor for his wide-ranging dedication to charities and causes throughout the Chicago area. He’s the most popular person at every public Wolves function – and there is no second place. When it’s time to run auctions that generate money for Chicago Wolves Charities, he takes over the microphone and uses his considerable charisma, gift for playful conversation and auctioneer skills to maximize the amount of money raised.
But during those times when there’s no microphone, camera or audience to capture the moment, Vaughan donates endless time and energy to youth charities and the children who benefit from them. The University of Michigan graduate has combined his desire to help kids with his strong networking skills and business sensibilities to create his own charitable initiative.
After hosting several hockey camps last summer with former Wolves teammate Jared Nightingale, Vaughan realized there are plenty of kids who deserve the benefits of camp but don’t have the means to attend. He created Kids For Camps, a charity that’s designed to build brighter futures for lower-income youth through sports.
“We believe all children deserve an equal opportunity to participate in sports, regardless of their financial situations,” Vaughan wrote on the Kids For Camps website. “It is our hope that by sending kids to camps, they will realize their true potential and develop the skills necessary to become collegiate student/athletes, professional athletes, and ultimately leaders who will drive social change.”
Vaughan is one of 30 finalists for the AHL’s 2017-18 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, which honors the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league’s 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 winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League at a later date.
