SALT LAKE CITY – In October of 2023, Visit Salt Lake held their second Annual Sports Tourism Summit. One of AAU’s own was recognized for his dedication towards youth sports. Former AAU Director of Sports and current governor of AAU’s Utah District, Mike Killpack was awarded the Community Impact Award.
 
In the inaugural year of the Community Impact Award, Mike Killpack was honored for his decades of service in donating countless time, energy, and effort to help the youth through sports. The Sports Tourism Summit event took place at the Maverik Center, and had more than 200 attendees, including city officials, economic development directors, event organizers, venue managers, and many more in the hospitality community.
 
In recent years, Killpack leveraged his background with Salt Lake County Parks and the AAU National Office in Orlando, Florida to grow Utah AAU into the 10^th largest district in AAU. He did this by bringing in events in sports such as girls basketball, boys basketball, and volleyball, creating countless participation opportunities for athletes in Utah that had not been available previously.
 
For Killpack, it has always been about the future and the next generation. He has dedicated much of his life to making sure the youth have access to all sports possible. We are incredibly proud of this outstanding award being given to an outstanding human being. Mike, thank you for all you do in the community and for our youth in sports.