NEWS

Top Four Nominees | 2023 S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award Presented By Fastenal

Named for the late S. Marcus Calloway, former chairman and majority owner of Rugby ATL, will be awarded to the player who shows passion, excellence and integrity on and off the field, inspires others to action, shows strength in character, aids those less fortunate, and embraces the core values of rugby, while displaying solidarity, discipline and respect.

The winner will be selected by the MLR CEO, deputy commissioner, a Fastenal representative, Mr. Calloway’s widow, and a close friend. The chosen athlete strives to inspire action among his peers, shows strength in character, comes to the aid of those less fortunate, and thoroughly embraces the core values of rugby, all while displaying solidarity, dignity, and respect.

The winner of this year’s S. Marcus Calloway Community Impact Award presented by Fastenal will be announced during the Championship Final on July 8.

Olive Kilifi – Utah Warriors

Non-Profit Choice: NAMI Utah

(National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness)

Olive Kilifi, a prop for the Utah Warriors, is from Seattle, Washington. Throughout his rugby career, Olive has earned 31 test caps with USA Rugby, participated in two rugby world cups, and won two Major League Rugby championships.

Outside of playing for the Warriors and helping coach the Utah Selects Rugby team, Olive regularly volunteers for his Church and a food pantry in Lehi, Utah. Additionally, Kilifi volunteers as a coach for the UCYR (Utah County Youth Rugby) league. Finally, he serves as a volunteer coach with multiple men’s clubs throughout the valley.

Mikey Te’o – San Diego Legion

Non-Profit Choice: Operation Underground Railroad
(US-based non-profit that fights human trafficking)

From Southern California, Mikey’s passion for rugby ignited at a young age. It has since morphed into a lifelong commitment to the sport and its growth, especially at the youth level.

Mikey has positively impacted countless kids and used rugby as a vehicle to do so. He believes in the power of sports to create positive change and has actively used his platform to support the local community.

Mikey has volunteer coached 15s for the Valley Center Mountain Lions. He also took on the influential position of backs coach at the University of San Diego, mentoring their players. Additionally, he took the lead in implementing a groundbreaking initiative known as the Rookie Rugby program. Through this program, Mikey works diligently to educate teachers, providing them with the necessary knowledge and tools to introduce the dynamic sport of rugby to their students. He consistently offers ongoing support to local schools, visiting them personally and providing students with extraordinary experiences by teaching their physical education classes and instilling the values inherent to rugby.

Calixto Martinez – Old Glory DC

Non-Profit Choice: Canadian Red Cross for Wildfire Relief Funds

Calixto was born and raised in BC, Canada, and attended the University of British Columbia, where he studied Forest Resources Management with the hopes of helping improve the overall forest health within BC.

He was a member of a Search and Rescue team for the Canadian Coast Guard for two years, acted as a Wildland Firefighter for the British Columbia wildfire service for three years, and volunteered as a community connector.

Currently, Calixto is enrolled in the Registered Professional Forestry Articling Program, in which he comes home from rugby training and studies his course modules to further his professional career as a Professional Forester at home in British Columbia.

Drafted 3rd overall in the 2022 MLR Draft, Calixto has been selected for the team roster almost every week, was a member of the U20s Canadian National team for two years, and is in contention for the senior men’s national teams for both USA and Canada.

Dan Kriel – Seattle Seawolves

Non-Profit Choice: Happy Bundles

Dan Kriel and his wife Candice Kriel founded the non-profit, Happy Bundles after Candice was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer in 2021. Candice and Dan have since moved to Seattle in America with their two young children and have registered and launched Happy Bundles in the U.S to take Happy Bundles international.

During her treatments and fight against Cancer, they took note of how many young children were receiving chemotherapy and radiation. Candice had received a gift box from a friend while in the hospital that brought her immense joy, and she had thought of how happy those children would be if they received a Happy Bundle. Through their hardship as a family, they decided to create awareness around childhood cancer and started a non-profit organization called Happy Bundles. Happy Bundles is registered in South Africa and America. Kriel recently put on an event for Happy Bundles, hosting 50 participants and raised $22,000 for the charity.

Besides the time Dan invests in Happy Bundles with his family, he also finds time to help in community coaching events with various community outreach programs. He recently inspired his team to support a young rugby player this season who is staying at their local Ronald McDonald House receiving treatment.