LETESTU NAMED WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS’ 2008-09
AMERICAN SPECIALTY/AHL MAN OF THE YEAR

WILKES-BARRE, PA - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are proud to announce that center Mark Letestu has been named the team’s winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Northeastern Pennsylvania community during the 2008-09 season.

Letestu has gone above and beyond in his community and charitable efforts this season.  He took it upon himself to continue the Penguins Christmas, a project which provides gifts to underprivileged children at the Kirby Family House in Wilkes-Barre.  Letestu approached his teammates about the program, helped to gather information from the Kirby House as to which children were in need, and then assigned a child to each player on the team.  Players then purchased three ‘needs’ (clothing, coats, hats, etc) for each child, along with toys, games, bikes and other items to brighten the holiday season.

Letestu has also been at the forefront of the Robo’s Readers program, which encourages children to pick up books throughout the school year.  He made several visits to area schools this season promoting the program, and was on hand for a pizza party with the winning classroom from the Evan’s Falls Elementary School near Tunkhannock, PA.

Letestu has also put together a fantastic year on the ice, ranking third on the team with 55 points as of March 26.

In recognition of his efforts, Letestu will be presented with an etched crystal trophy during an on-ice presentation prior to an upcoming Penguins home game.

Letestu is now one of 29 finalists for the AHL’s 2008-09 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League in the coming weeks.

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