Title Page & Abstract
An Interview with Lindsey Willhite
Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Tumultuous 2020 Oral History project
Interview # T20-A-L-2021-034
Lindsey Willhite, public relations director for the Chicago Wolves American Hockey League Club, discusses the impact of the COVID 19-Pandemic upon the AHL and the Chicago Wolves from March 2020 to August 2021.
Interview dates & location:
Date: August 20, 2021 Location: Santori Public Library, Aurora, Illinois
Interview Format: Digital audio
Interviewer: Philip Pogue, ALPL volunteer
Total Time: 1:07 / 1.12 hrs.
Accessioned into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Archives on October 25, 2021.
The interview is archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.
© 2021 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Abstract
Lindsey Willhite, Tumultuous 2020, T20-A-L-2021-034
Lindsey Willhite was born November of 1967 in Murphysboro, Illinois. He grew up in Champaign, Illinois, and graduated from Champaign Central High School in 1984. At Central, Willhite participated in baseball, track, and cross country. He attended Illinois State University where he earned a B.S. in finance in 1988. His first jobs were in finance before he shifted to the field of journalism. As a journalist, he worked for twenty-two years with the Daily Herald, covering Chicago area sports. He has been the director of public relations for the Chicago Wolves, an American Hockey League Club affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes, for the past 10 years.
Willhite discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Chicago Wolves. This included the termination of the season in March 2020 right before the Calder Cup playoffs began. Unlike the National Hockey League season, the rest of the Chicago Wolves’ season was then cancelled. Willhite also discusses the impact of COVID-19 and the protocols the team adopted, including a limited season beginning in February, as well as the inclusion of Milwaukee Admiral players. Wilhite also details the history of the Wolves, starting in 1994, and their affiliation with NHL franchises and team ownership. Willhite addresses the impact of the pandemic on revenue, the Wolves’ support of charities, and the cost to the local economy. He also described plans for the 2021-22 AHL season.
Subject Headings/Key Words: history of the Chicago Wolves (AHL); local professional hockey team owners; NHL affiliate; impact of COVID-19 pandemic; pandemic protocols; corporate sponsors
Note to the Reader: Readers of the oral history memoir should bear in mind that this is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the interviewer, interviewee and editor sought to preserve the informal, conversational style that is inherent in such historical sources. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is not responsible for the factual accuracy of the memoir, nor for the views expressed therein. We leave these for the reader to judge.
COPYRIGHT
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