MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Bemidji State University Women's Hockey senior defender Kendra Fortin has been named one of 14 nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian Award announced by the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation Tuesday afternoon.
 
The award, which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary season, is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
 
Fortin is being nominated for her work with Organ Donation Awareness at Bemidji State. Since stepping on campus in the fall of 2021, Kendra has used her platform as a Division I Collegiate Women's Hockey student-athlete to advocate to the Bemidji Community the importance of organ donation. She started the "Kidney for Cory" campaign in her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario to help her father, Cory, receive a life-saving kidney transplant. Each year, Kendra plans and oversees the Organ Donation Awareness Weekend at Bemidji State men's and women's hockey games. The weekend has been in place within department of Bemidji State Athletics since the 2022-23 season.
 
This year's nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian Award are:
 

Name	Cl.	Pos.	School	Hometown
David Breazeale	Sr.	D	Maine	Grandville, Mich.
Keri Clougherty	Sr.	D	Boston College	Lynn, Mass.
Kendra Fortin	Sr.	D	Bemidji State	Thunder Bay, Ont.
Alex Gagne	Sr.	D	New Hampshire	Bedrod, N.H.
Hank Kempf *	Sr.	D	Cornell	Wilmette, Ill.
Josh Luedtke	Sr.	D	St. Cloud State	Minnetonka, Minn.
Cameron Mannion	Sr.	D	Stonehill College	Dorchester, Mass.
Raice Szott *	Gr.	D	Merrimack College	Daysland, Alta.
Sarah Thompson *	Gr.	F	St. Lawrence	Ottawa, Ont.
Jacob Truscott	Sr.	D	Michigan	Fort Gratiot, Mich.
Clara Van Wieren	Gr.	F	Minnesota Duluth	Okemos, Mich.
Makenna Webster	Sr.	F	Ohio State	St. Louis, Mo.
Audrey Wethington	Gr.	F	Minnesota	Edina, Minn.
Luke Wheeler	Sr.	F	Bowdoin College	Golden, Colo.

* 2024 HHA Finalist
 
Finalists for the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in February. The 2025 recipient will be announced on Friday, April 11th during the NCAA Men's Frozen Four weekend in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
Penn State's Dylan Lugris was honored as the 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient last year in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Boston University's J.P. McKersie was the inaugural recipient of the award in 1995.
 
For more information on the Bemidji State women's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X or Instagram, or like them on Facebook.
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
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