SEG Co-Founder Ashley Smith, Players, Staff, Broadcasters Pay It Forward

Whether it’s holding the door for the person behind you or picking up the tab in the drive thru, a simple act can have a significant impact. That’s the purpose behind the SEG Foundation’s Pay It Forward Day. On Dec. 9, members of SEG were in action supporting their community.

“It’s been a wild and fun day,” SEG Co-Founder Ashley Smith said of Pay It Forward Utah. “I love sports because they bring people together, they unify us in a very divided world. If there’s one thing that I think everyone can agree upon is that we love moments that we get to be kind and we love it when others are kind to us. What a great thing to unify over.

“It’s been a cool day to see the players and the organization, and the broadcast team all come together to do kind things,” Smith continued. “It’s been fun to watch.”

It was a packed day giving back. Members of the Utah Mammoth, the Utah Jazz, SEG, and SEG Foundation spread across the state at various different businesses. Some SEG employees were at drive-thru lines, gas stations, and grocery stores picking up the bill. Other representatives were visiting the Ronald McDonald House to make crafts and donate to the organization’s food pantry. A local assisted living facility was greeted with gifts and had the opportunity to visit with members of the Jazz organization. All across the state, SEG was paying it forward.

After school was out for the day, 15 Mammoth players went to Target with 20 members of the Boys and Girls Club to do some holiday shopping. Captain Clayton Keller wanted to give back to the community and he recruited his teammates to join for the fun.

"It's a huge part of our team and who we want to be,” Keller explained. “It's something that I've seen other teams do and something I wanted to do to give back in a way that I haven't before. It's great to see the team and everyone make it come together. We had like 15 guys here, so it was awesome."

You could feel the excitement around the store as 20 teens from the Boys and Girls Club were able to spend time with Mammoth players and shop ahead of the holidays. In addition to finding a toy, stuffed animal, or pair of headphones for themselves, all of the teens were shopping for their families as well. They too were paying it forward with their own gift.

“I heard it a few times, this (was) a lot of their first times ever shopping for themselves,” defenseman Sean Durzi explained. “Everyone was pretty nervous and timid at first and didn’t want to spend it all in one place, but I think once you see the smiles at the checkout line and seeing all that fun stuff they get to go home with, it puts it into perspective. I think it’s a great initiative, I think we’re so happy to be here. SEG’s done such a good job of giving us this opportunity to be out in the community and our captain, (Keller), was a big part of this and we’re just happy to be here.”

Throughout the event, you couldn’t tell who was having more fun, the teens from Boys and Girls Club or the Mammoth players. Everyone had a blast shopping for holiday gifts and getting to know each other on a personal level.

“How remarkable that the hockey players came and donated their own money on top of what SEG was doing.” Smith shared. “We have Clayton Keller who had a recent trauma in his life and here he is, giving. It’s been really cool to see. They’ve been here with incredible attitudes, and watching them connect with these youth, it’s just been fun and inspiring.”

10 minutes up the street from Target, Jazz forward Georges Niang, Jazz Bear, and Mammoth forward Jack McBain were buying groceries and handing out gift cards at Smith’s Grocery. These players and Jazz Bear were able to directly help the community and engage with their neighbors. In fact, McBain was stopped by a young fan who says McBain is his second favorite player, after Dylan Guenther.

Jazz center Kyle Filipowski spent his Pay It Forward day at the Best Friends Animal Society. On Tuesday, all adoption fees were waived. For those who couldn’t adopt, community members were invited to donate the cost of an adoption fee to pay it forward. Filipowski was close to adopting a dog himself and his teammates; however, his support of the Best Friends Animal Society allowed him to give back.

The Mammoth-Jazz collaboration throughout the day showed the strong bonds within SEG and the buy-in from everyone to be ‘Community Obsessed,’ one of SEG’s key values. Players, broadcasters, and staff were eager to be in the community and spread kindness.

With the second annual Pay It Forward day in the books, it was a reminder that anyone can make an impact in their community with a simple act of kindness. As the organization looks forward, there’s hope for this tradition to continue and grow.

“We’re definitely hoping this will become a tradition,” Smith shared. “We want this to be something people look forward to, and something that inspires not just a whole month of kindness, but just strengthening that muscle. It inspires us to continue to pay it forward and to do things for others and use that tool and that skill and strengthen ourselves and the whole community.”