PROVIDENCE, R.I. – John Greenhalgh, one of the co-founders of the Humanitarian Award given to college hockey’s top all-around citizen, said University of Maine senior right winger Jim Leger, the recipient of the 2000 award, was “about the hardest person I’ve ever had to talk to among all the people I’ve interviewed.

“My job is to check on the resumes with the finalists and I just couldn’t get him to talk about himself,” said Greenhalgh of Leger’s humility. “He is a truly sincere individual and his record speaks for itself.

“One of the key points is that when he’d go visit patients in a hospital, he’d take some of his teammates with him. So other kids will carry on the work he has done in the community,” added Greenhalgh, a member of the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Leger’s list of community activites is a mile long and includes his organizing and coordinating of the Toys for Tots program that provides toys for needy children; 15 visits to local schools for the community reading program; five hospital and pediatric award visits; participating in four Terry Fox Run for Cancer events and serving as the grand marshall for the Walk for Multiple Sclerosis.

Academically, he was the winner of the Dean Smith Award as the top male scholar-athlete at Maine; he is the president of the student-athlete advisory board and has a 3.67 grade-point average in his public management major to raise his overall GPA to 3.12.

“This is the greatest honor I have ever received,” said Leger. “I really can’t express how I feel in words right now.

“I’m just one of 30 guys on our team and this award is a reflection of them, the program and the university,” added Leger. “It’s important to be involved in the community. We don’t do it for the recognition. The people in Maine have really supported us so there’s no reason we shouldn’t support them.”

He also said the student-athletes are “role models for the little kids in the community” and it’s important to set good examples for them.

Leger also said Maine coach Shawn Walsh has encouraged the players to get involved in the community. He has also been helpful in providing academic tutelage to his teammates.

Leger was a former walk-on who was one of the captains at Maine this season. He had his best season this year with nine goals and nine assists in 40 games. He was the runner-up for Hockey East’s Best Defensive Forward award.

His numerous achievements off the ice have even come as a surprise to his family members.

“I didn’t know half the things he did,” said his dad, Jim Leger. “He has worked so hard to get where he is. Nothing has ever been given to him. And he always thinks of other people (before himself).”

His uncle, Tom Surette, was a Marine and said the Marines originally started the Toys for Tots program.

“You would have thought he would have told me,” said Surette. “He used to babysit for me. He’s always been a good kid.”

His grandfather, Warren Leger, said Jim is a conscientious family member who always calls them from Maine when they have a birthday.

His other grandfather, Joe Surette, said, “My wife (Hilda) and I are sickly and we have a garden. Jim tends the garden for us during the summer.”

Leger, who hopes to continue his hockey career, said his reward has always been “to put a smile on the face of someone I’ve helped.”

Besides Leger, the other finalists were UMass-Lowell’s Craig Brown, Alaska-Fairbanks’ Ryan Reinheller, Alabama-Huntsville’s Jay Woodcroft and Yale’s Juliana Shantz-Dunn.