Meet Our 2021 Aylo Health Family Values Award Winners

Every year, Aylo Health awards a male and female student athlete the Family Values award. The winners embody the heart of a Positive Athlete and exemplify the importance of positive family values. They are each awarded $1000 scholarships for their recognition. These scholarships are part of Aylo Health’s support of Positive Athlete Georgia, an organization started by former Georgia Bulldog football star and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward.

This year, we are thrilled to announce our two Henry County high school student-athlete winners, congratulations to Michael J. Cannon and Skyelar Speck!

“Aylo Health is proud to celebrate the future generation of leaders in the communities that we serve.  Michael and Skyelar have shown us that they are deserving of the Family Values Award because they are not only great athletes on the field, but wonderful kids off. We wish them the best in their career ahead, said Aylo Health’s Vice President, Marketing, Tim Reichert.

Michael J. Cannon, a senior track and field athlete from Ola High School has been a mentor to the younger student-athletes on his track team. Through his church, Michael helped with hurricane relief in Louisiana last year with home clean ups, handing out supply boxes for the victims, and helping fix lunches for the other volunteers. He is always encouraging others to be the best that they can be no matter what challenge they face.  Michael has had his own life challenges, including a broken tibia and fibula where he had to have to have rods and screws placed in his leg, ankle, and knee. But he used this setback to provide another lesson to other athletes how to set their sights on the future and not to dwell in the negative.

Skyelar Speck, a senior at Union Grove High School, has consistently demonstrated a commitment to her school and her community. In addition to being a varsity letter earner in three sports including Cheerleading, Track, and Gymnastics, Skyelar maintained an A average in the classroom. But Skyelar’s most admirable quality is her commitment to her community. Early on in the pandemic, Skyelar decided to make/sew masks for the community and first responders. Skyelar and her family together cut, sewed, and shipped out over 5000 masks for health care workers, first responders and other high-need individuals. Skyelar is also involved in organizations such as Operation Lunchbox, and Kindness Works which are local special needs holiday parties. She also collected over 1,700 cans of food for The Haven House and GIGI’s house shelters in McDonough.

“This is the eighth year for the Positive Athlete program in Georgia, and the stories of our nominees continue to amaze me,” said Ward. “I was always credited with having a positive influence on my team during my days with the UGA and the Steelers, but the stories I hear about kids like Michael and Skyelar really inspire me to be a better person.”

Positive Athlete Georgia, a subsidiary of parent company Celebrate Positive, LLC, is a group of high-character professional athletes who have teamed up to promote the benefits of positivity to young athletes around the world. Over 5,000 nominations were received this year in Georgia, and Positive Athlete has awarded over $250,000 in corporately sponsored scholarships in Georgia alone the past eight years. Visit Positive Athlete Georgia’s website for more on nominations and additional information.