Hero Photo - Feb 15 1

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Deanne Cornette as the seventh Lightning Community Hero this season during the first period of tonight's game against the Florida Panthers. Cornette, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, presented by Jabil, will donate the money to Frameworks of Tampa Bay.

For more than 20 years, Cornette has been a constant, valuable contributor and advocate of improving public access to behavioral health services across the Tampa Bay community. Mental health is very critical to someone's overall health, especially during these difficult times of uncertainty, and Cornette has long championed the cause. Most notably, she is a dedicated volunteer with Frameworks of Tampa Bay, an organization that empowers educator, youth service professionals and parents with key resources to equip children with social and emotional skills.
To date, Cornette has helped raise more than $200 million to help fill the gaps in the system of behavior health care services. She's helped guide countless individuals and families to receive these services because she refuses to let their past define their future.
Cornette becomes the 418th Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the Lightning Community Hero program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through this evening's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $21.85 million to more than 750 different nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2016, the Vinik's announced that the community hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.