CHRISTOPHER ROGERS HONORED AS LIGHTNING COMMUNITY HERO

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Christopher Rogers as the 25th Lightning Community Hero of the 2015-16 season during the first period of tonight’s game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rogers, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Crisis Center.

Seven years ago, Rogers served as a volunteer at the Crisis Center where he refreshed the non-profit’s IT infrastructure. As the Global Vice President of Information Technology for Sykes Enterprises, he provided hundreds of pro-bono hours in order to bring a reliable and an up-to-date infrastructure. His diligence has made it possible for the organization to answer calls from people in crisis and to efficiently run a medical transportation service in the process.

Last year, Rogers’ expertise and dedication helped the organization respond to over 165,000 calls to those in desperate need and facing a crisis. Overall, Rogers’ legacy is to help front line service providers bring help, hope and healing to those who are hurting. Tonight’sCommunity Hero’s dedication proudly represents a non-profit that will continue to give assistance to those who ask for it.

Rogers becomes the 204th Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the 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 $10.35 million to more than 300 different non-profits in the Greater Tampa Bay area.

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