May 6, 2020 – The LHM Group held a public food drive in Utah, with collection locations at 22 LHM Dealerships, 13 Megaplex Theatres, Vivint Smart Home Arena and Smith’s Ballpark (home of the Salt Lake Bees). The Driven to Assist campaign ran April 30 – May 6 to help Utah Food Bank address food insecurity conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The food drive collected 23,541 pounds of canned food donations plus $4,668 in financial contributions for the equivalency of 36,772 meals.
May 20, 2020 –In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Jazz guard Mike Conley donated a total of $200,000 that benefited six organizations in five communities: Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City; CodeCrew in Memphis, Tenn.; Community Shelter Board and the Columbus Urban League in Columbus, Ohio; the Indianapolis Public Schools Foundation in Indianapolis; and the New Haven Missionary Baptist Church in West Helena, Ark.
May 22, 2020 – Former Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan passed away at the age of 78 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
May 27, 2020 – The Utah Jazz congratulated Walt Perrin, Jazz vice president of player personnel, on his new position as assistant general manager (college scouting) for the New York Knicks.
May 28, 2020 – The National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA) named the Utah Jazz athletic training staff co-recipients of the 2019-20 Joe O’Toole/David Craig Athletic Training Staff of the Year Award.Utah shared the award with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both were honored for their diligence and expertise in handling the first NBA case of COVID-19, which included managing the testing of players and staff and coordinating their safe return home.
June 1, 2020 – Jazz coach Quin Snyder was invited to serve on the National Basketball Coaches Association’s Committee on Racial Injustice and Reform. The task group was established after the NBCA issued a strong statement condemning recent instances of “police brutality, racial profiling and the weaponization of racism.”
June 4, 2020 – It was announced that remainder of the 2019-20 NBA G League season was officially cancelled. Play had been suspended since March 12, 2020.
June 8, 2020 – As part of its Driven to Assist initiative, the LHM Group collaborated with the American Red Cross to conduct a blood drive at Vivint Smart Home Arena June 1-5. The event resulted in 715 pints of blood being donated, and the American Red Cross indicated it was the largest drive in its Utah/Nevada region so far this year.
June 15, 2020 – NBA 2K League announced that Jazz Gaming guard Kimanni “Splashy” Ingram was named the NBA 2K League Player of the Week for Week 6 of the regular season. Splashy is the first player in Jazz Gaming history to earn league Player of the Week honors.
June 17, 2020 — The Utah Jazz announced plans to designate Juneteenth as an annual paid company holiday for its employees, starting its observance on Friday, June 19, 2020. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is considered the oldest national holiday commemorating emancipation from slavery in the United States.
June 18, 2020 –The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com announced that LHM Dodge Ram Avondale had earned a spot on the list of 2020 azcentral.com® Top Companies to Work for in Arizona. The highly selective list of 125 companies was the result of anonymous and comprehensive employee surveys measuring culture, work environment, leadership, and employee pride and satisfaction, combined with rigorous evaluations of workplace practices, policies, perks and demographics. This is the fifth consecutive year the dealership has been named to the list.
June 18, 2020 – Jazz Gaming, the official NBA 2K League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, earned a berth in THE TIPOFF semifinals with a 2-1 series victory over Pistons GT (Detroit Pistons affiliate) during the tournament’s quarterfinals round. Jazz Gaming eventually fell to Kings Guard Gaming (Sacramento Kings affiliate) during the semifinals.
June 24, 2020 — Salt Lake City Stars Head Coach Martin Schiller was named winner of the 2019-20 NBA G League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year Award, and Utah Jazz Director of Scouting/Salt Lake City Stars Vice President of Basketball Operations Bart Taylor was named the 2019-20 NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year.
June 25, 2020 — The Salt Lake City Stars held an online auction of game-worn jerseys and signed memorabilia to benefit the Racial Equity and Inclusion Fund, which will provide critically needed financial assistance to nonprofit organizations supporting multicultural and underserved communities in Utah.
June 26, 2020 — Utah Jazz two-way player Jarrell Brantley was named to the All-NBA G League First Team and All-Rookie Team for the 2019-20 season. Brantley is the first Stars player in team history to collect All-Rookie honors.
June 30, 2020 – LHM Dealerships announced a partnership with Denver7 and The Salvation Army for the annual Pack A Backpack school supply drive July 6-31, 2020. Throughout July, with help from customers and employees, LHM Dealerships worked to fill a showroom vehicle with school supplies at each of its 10 Denver and Boulder locations. The campaign helped get backpacks full of supplies into the hands of children in need across the Denver metro area and Boulder for the 2020-21 school year.
July 7, 2020 – The Utah Jazz announced the appointment of Steven Smith, a nine-year veteran of Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment in guest experience, team security and public safety, to the position of senior vice president of team security in basketball operations, effective July 1. Smith had been the vice president of team security for the Jazz and managed its personal protection team since 2015. He added to his duties in 2017 as the vice president of public safety and guest experience for Vivint Smart Home Arena and Smith’s Ballpark, home of the Salt Lake Bees.
July 8, 2020 – The Utah Jazz, B Corp, and outdoor brand Cotopaxi, collaborated to support Utah’s COVID-19 relief efforts through sales of limited edition #OneUtah T-shirts. Proceeds are benefiting the COVID-19 Community Response Fund, which was formed in March by Silicon Slopes.
July 14, 2020 – The Salt Lake City Stars announced that Martin Schiller had been named the head coach of Lithuanian basketball club Žalgiris Kaunas, which competes in the Lithuanian Basketball League and EuroLeague. Schiller spent the past three years as head coach of the Salt Lake City Stars and was named the 2019-20 NBA G League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year.
July 15, 2020 – LHM Dealerships announced its Driven to Assist campaign, a food drive that was held July 20-31 to help Arizona children and families receive the food they need during the COVID-19 crisis. Donations gathered at dealerships were provided to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in Tucson.
July 17, 2020 – Jazz Gaming clinched a playoff spot with a series win in the Game of the Week against Grizz Gaming (Memphis Grizzlies affiliate). It marked the team’s first playoff berth in its three-year history.
July 20, 2020 – In August, Utah Jazz Youth Camps and Clinics presented by adidas began providing comprehensive instructional programming exclusively in a digital format. Designed for boys and girls ages 7-17 of all skill levels and abilities, the sessions are now available as virtual trainings and clinics.
July 21, 2020 – The Utah Jazz announced plans to honor the legacy of Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Sloan with a special tribute patch worn on team jerseys and warm-ups during the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA season in Orlando. The patch features the number 1,223 representing the total number of wins during Sloan’s 23 seasons as head coach of the Jazz. The patch was first worn July 23 as part of the NBA restart. During the 2020-21 season, Jazz jerseys will display a commemorative black strip with the same “1223” design.
July 23, 2020 – Jazz Gaming advanced to the quarterfinals of THE TURN powered by AT&T, the league’s second in-season tournament, by virtue of a 2-0 series sweep against Hawks Talon GC (Atlanta Hawks affiliate).
July 24, 2020 – Jazz Gaming advanced to the semifinals of THE TURN in-season tournament, sweeping Hornets Venom GT (Charlotte Hornets affiliate) 2-0 in the best-of-three series.
July 25, 2020 – Jazz Gaming fell to Wizards District Gaming (Washington Wizards affiliate) in the semifinals of THE TURN tournament today. It marked the team’s second consecutive final-four finish in an NBA 2K League tournament this season.
July 27, 2020 – The Salt Lake Bees, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, ranked in the Top 25 of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) merchandise sales for the sixth consecutive year in 2019, according to MiLB data released today.
July 27, 2020 – Silver Waves Media named Jazz owner Gail Miller, Jazz player Donovan Mitchell, and head coach Quin Snyder to its list of the 100 Most Influential People in the NBA. To be considered for this list, the individual must be currently active in their field. The list was compiled after months of research, speaking with players, GM’s, assistant GM’s, agents, NBA executives, money managers and other influencers in the NBA.
Winning Spirit Magazine
July/August 2020
Vol. 12, Issue 4