O'Ree finalist spotlight: Marty Richardson

The Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award is given to an individual who, through hockey, has positively impacted his or her community culture or society. The award honors O'Ree, the former NHL forward who became the first Black player to play in the NHL on Jan. 18, 1958, and has spent more than two decades as the NHL's diversity ambassador. The winner is determined by a fan vote, which is from April 3-16, as well as a judging panel with weighted votes from Willie O'Ree, the NHL and, for the award in Canada, representatives from Hyundai. New this year, there will be a winner from the United States and one from Canada.Today, a look at one of three U.S. finalists, Marty Richardson.

Marty Richardson made a promise.
When Jack Kelly, his close friend and teammate on the Dawgs beer-league hockey team, died from an autoimmune disease in 2010, he told Kelly's three daughters he wanted to do something to honor him.
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And that's just what he did on Jan. 1, 2011.
"So about eight months after his passing, I started this thing called the Dawg Nation Hockey Foundation," Richardson said, "just not in honor of Jack, but also to help families."
The foundation raises money through tournaments put on by Dawg Nation. In 2002, it donated $900,000 to families going through tough times, and has given out more than $4 million since 2012.

"They're all hockey-related families, all with different things that have happened to them," Richardson said.
Richardson, from Denver, Colorado, is a finalist for the 2023 Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award, after being a semifinalist for the award in 2021 and 2022.
"To me, it's an incredible honor," Richardson said. "I'm a giant hockey fan but I don't know if there's a bigger honor than this. I really don't. Willie O'Ree, what he means to the game and inclusivity and all that comes with that. But when you read what the award's about, incredibly humbling. I've had a really blessed life, but boy, this is right there at the top."

Not only does Richardson's foundation donate money to families in the United States and Canada, he also stays in touch with each family to support them emotionally.
"As I tell them, 'We're going to give you a check and help you out, but that's only the beginning: You're now part of our pack,'" he said. "My ultimate goal is they get to be on the other side, and they get to hand the check out with me to help the next family."

Richardson never imagined the impact that would be made when he began the foundation.
"At the time I was an international finance instructor to Oracle, a big-boy job, and I figured that was going to be my career," Richardson said.
"We would still play beer league hockey and we might give away $5,000-$10,000 a year, run a tournament here and there and call it good. That's what I figured it would be, and that's cool, right? But it went from there and to these levels that, honestly, I could have never, ever fathomed."
The winner from Canada will receive the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award presented by Hyundai in Canada. The Canada winner will be announced on Sportsnet during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final and the U.S. winner will be announced at the NHL Awards on June 26 in Nashville. Each winner will receive a $25,000 USD prize, and the four remaining finalists will receive $5,000, to be donated to a charity of their choice.