NHL Stick Tap for Service finalists named

Four finalists were named Tuesday in the 2020 NHL Stick Tap for Service contest, presented by Navy Federal Credit Union.

The contest, now in its second year, honors the outstanding community service of hockey fans and military members who embody the spirit of giving, mentorship, sacrifice and service, and it celebrates those who have gone above and beyond to help others.

"If there's one thing we know as a credit union serving the military and their families, it's that they have incredible stories of service and giving back to their communities," said Joe Bock, vice president of brand and product marketing at Navy Federal. "We're able to bring those stories to the light through our partnership with the NHL and the Stick Tap for Service program. Since we launched this program in 2018, we've received hundreds of applications from exceptional individuals who give back to their communities and embody the values of service as sportsmanship. We're proud of all of those who participate, and honored to be part of a program like this."

The finalists are Bobby Colliton, founder of the Skate for the 22 Foundation; Matt Dunn, a member of the board of directors for the Nebraska Warriors hockey club; Marylyn Harris, founder of the Women Veterans Business Center in Houston; and Kelly Mulder, CEO of Stroller Warriors Running Club.

The winner receives $30,000 toward their charity; the first runner-up receives $10,000 to their charity and the two second runners-up receive $5,000 each toward their charities.

Here's a closer look at the finalists:

Bobby Colliton

Burlington, Massachusetts

Founder, Skate For the 22 Foundation

Favorite NHL team: Tampa Bay Lightning

Colliton retired from the U.S. Army and Air Force after 15 years of active duty and struggled to reintegrate into civilian life after losing three friends and fellow veterans to suicide. He found comfort in playing hockey and figured that the sport could help other veterans.

"The only escape I could find was through hockey -- Sunday night men's league hockey," Colliton said. "The locker room was my sanctuary, and the rink became my salvation."

Colliton met veterans in similar straits at his Boston-area rink and soon found himself organizing games and events. The group quickly grew from 18 veterans to more than 30 and the Skate for the 22 Foundation was born.

"By the end of the first season we had grown to over 100 veterans who, like me, had found peace with hockey," he said. "By year two, it was clear that we were bringing veterans together, we were preventing suicide and we were growing."

The group, which derives its name from the number of military veterans who commit suicide each day, now has more than 400 veteran athletes. The organization has three clubs in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine operating learn to play, skills clinics, scrimmages and games for veterans.

Matt Dunn

Omaha, Nebraska

Board Member, Nebraska Warriors

Favorite NHL team: Minnesota Wild

Dunn, a retired Air Force veteran, serves as a board member of the Omaha-based Nebraska Warriors hockey club, a nonprofit program that uses hockey and other sports to support healing and the reintegration of both abled and disabled veterans.

"I have grown a lot being part of this team," he said. "I have done elementary school presentations … I have been a part of helping local food pantries, large feed-style dinners, and one-on-one support for struggling veterans." Dunn said. "I have come to genuinely believes that hockey heals, a phrase I heard playing on the Warrior team, and that's my motto to all."

Marylyn Harris

Pearland, Texas

Founder, Women Veterans Business Center

Favorite NHL team:Philadelphia Flyers

Harris, a retired Army nurse who served in the Gulf War, founded the nation's first women's veteran business center in 2010 in Houston.

She applied the lessons she learned playing high school hockey in Chester, Pennsylvania, and watching Bobby Clarke and the 1970s-era Philadelphia Flyers to help her form a center that has assisted more than 25,000 veterans and military families start and grow wealth-generating businesses.

"It's very important to us at the Women Veterans Business Center to lift up women veterans and the entire military family and to do it so that they have economic sustainability and wealth-building opportunities," Harris said. "We feel that they deserve it. They're heroes. Because when veterans keep serving, America benefits. We all benefit."

Kelly Mulder

Okinawa, Japan

CEO, Stroller Warriors Running Club

Favorite NHL team: Washington Capitals

Mulder, the spouse of a U.S. Marine in Okinawa, Japan, is CEO of an organization with 48 chapters worldwide and a mission to help military families live happier, healthier lives through fitness, friendship, networking and community outreach.

The Stroller Warriors Running Club hosts workouts at playgrounds and runs on trails. All workouts and events are organized and communicated through the group's Facebook pages.

The organization also gives back to the community: Over the last two years, it has contributed more than $52,000 to charitable groups, given 585 toys to Toys for Tots and 400 items to Fire Fighters Charity, and logged more than 1,132 man hours at charity events.

Mulder developed a love for hockey through her older brother, who used to put her in his goalie gear to practice his slap shot while growing up in Washington, D.C.

"I went to an all-girls Catholic school, so playing hockey wasn't an option for me," said Mulder, who founded the Stroller Warriors' Okinawa and Quantico chapters. "But my parents gave us ice skating lessons, and I proudly followed my mother's lead and chose to wear hockey skates to my ice skating lessons … My fond memories of hockey and time on the ice with my family have carried on into my life as a parent and aunt. My first-born went to her first hockey game at 3 months old. My nephews are following in my brother's footsteps and are already naturals on the ice."

Navy Federal Credit Union and the NHL are proud to recognize and support this year's Stick Tap for Service Finalists. Visit Video: NFCU Finalist: Bobby Colliton to learn more about the Stick Tap for Service program.