Thursday, July 07, 2005
The Big Day Out……..Where do I start, maybe by thanking God for giving so many good friends is a good start. There is so much to say, pardon me if I start to ramble on here. The whole idea for the event came to me the day of Alex’s funeral, I heard a number of times that day how we never needed to forget about him because of the impact he left on so many in his short time with all of us. I had always really liked Alex; he was a great kid to have around the park, always happy and joking around. The night after Alex was buried I was sitting at home, it was really working on my mind on what I could do to help the Yurewich family through their tragedy. I had lost one of my skaters but they had lost a son and brother.
I brought the idea up to my wife that we should start a memorial college scholarship fund in his name that would be a great way to always keep his spirit alive. The following days I would just call and talk to folks about the idea, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me but everyone really wanted to help make it a special day. The idea was in place but it took a little time to track Elaine (Alex’s Mom) down. When we finally, spoke she gave me her blessing to start the project. Below you will see a list of sponsors who helped me out so, so much. How do I thank all of you? The past week has been so emotional for me, in less than four weeks we were able to pull off one of the biggest events we have ever had at the park. We did it because we all cared. Fifty percent of my support came from the west coast, these people had no idea who Alex and his family were but they all came together because he was part of the extended Skate Family.
The emails and phone calls were all day occurrences, everyone wanting to do their part to help. I remember my daughters were at Elaine’s house the week after Alex had passed, Elaine asked if they knew who Jamie Thomas was, O-yea they knew, come to find out he had sent Elaine some flowers that day. Things like this were happening everyday; I would receive packages daily from distributors, manufactures and individuals with product you can’t find anywhere. Even though we raised about $6,000.00 in cash on Wednesday, I still have $15,000 in special items that will be auctioned off over the coming weeks.
Again how do I thank all of you for helping me?
I do have to personally thank a few of ya’ll, the guys from RidgeStone Church for stepping right up from day one, my good friends Jeff and Carla Roach, Sheriff Roger Garrison and his team of deputies kept the event safe for everyone, it was so hot and humid and they monitored the traffic for eight hours, you have my respect. Brian ”Browndog” Martin, what a friend! Harry Day is my new friend, what a guy. Joe Pelligrino, the skateparks step dad, Anne Marie from Phillips Arena, Corey from Nobyl Skateboards, you have a special place in Elaine’s heart. Joel at Fused, man, you're one of the best. All the bands that played, Kelly’s Heroes, Westside and my best of friends, The Thrillhammers, Chris Chandler cut his family’s vacation short just so he could be at the show and a special thanks to the Progressive Crew. How do I thank ya’ll enough?
Sorry for the rambling, all this has to be said. One more shout out, one of my family members, Dennis Adams, at 6:00 Tuesday evening we had ten tons of air-conditioning go out and I had no power to the stage, Dennis got it all up in time.
I took about a ten-minute break on Wednesday afternoon and sat in my office with the lights out, I could here the bands playing outside, BrownDog calling the contest through the PA and the general noise of people having fun. What a GREAT DAY, I knew Alex was smiling down on all of us. Thank God for giving me such good friends.
Respectfully,
Mike DeLuca
Please take a look at our sponsors and remember them in the future:
Long Horn Steak House (Harry Day, It wouldn’t be what it is without you)
Fused (Town Center Mall)
Phillips Arena (Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam)
Joe Pelligrino, (for making this his personal mission)
NOBYL Skateboards
Jeff and Carla Roach (Alex’s Wristbands)
Chastain Amphitheate
99x Radio
Buckhead Beef Company
BullDog Skateboards
Globe Shoes
Ambush Boarding Company
Eastern Skate Supply,
Vans Shoes
Adio Shoes
Krew Clothing Co.
Sole Technologies (Emerica, ES, Etnies)
Dwindle Dist. (Blind, Almost Skateboards)
BlackBox Dist. (Zero, Mystery)
Fallen Shoe Company
Coca Cola
Powerade
NHS Dist. (Krux Trucks, Ricta Wheels, Independent Trucks)
Satori Wheel Company
ESPN Sports Television
ABC Sports Television
Tom & Erin Hyser at Skatepile
Accel Wheels
DarkHorse Dist. (Dogtown and Termite Skateboards)
NIKE Pro Skateboard
Sheriff Roger Garrison and His Staff
Lake Arrowhead Fire Dept.
Sonic Drive-In’s
City of Canton
Walmart
Alien Workshop Skateboards
Speed Demon Skateboards
Kelley’s Heroes
Westend
The Thrillhammers
Ruin Skateshop
The Capital Grille
I brought the idea up to my wife that we should start a memorial college scholarship fund in his name that would be a great way to always keep his spirit alive. The following days I would just call and talk to folks about the idea, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me but everyone really wanted to help make it a special day. The idea was in place but it took a little time to track Elaine (Alex’s Mom) down. When we finally, spoke she gave me her blessing to start the project. Below you will see a list of sponsors who helped me out so, so much. How do I thank all of you? The past week has been so emotional for me, in less than four weeks we were able to pull off one of the biggest events we have ever had at the park. We did it because we all cared. Fifty percent of my support came from the west coast, these people had no idea who Alex and his family were but they all came together because he was part of the extended Skate Family.
The emails and phone calls were all day occurrences, everyone wanting to do their part to help. I remember my daughters were at Elaine’s house the week after Alex had passed, Elaine asked if they knew who Jamie Thomas was, O-yea they knew, come to find out he had sent Elaine some flowers that day. Things like this were happening everyday; I would receive packages daily from distributors, manufactures and individuals with product you can’t find anywhere. Even though we raised about $6,000.00 in cash on Wednesday, I still have $15,000 in special items that will be auctioned off over the coming weeks.
Again how do I thank all of you for helping me?
I do have to personally thank a few of ya’ll, the guys from RidgeStone Church for stepping right up from day one, my good friends Jeff and Carla Roach, Sheriff Roger Garrison and his team of deputies kept the event safe for everyone, it was so hot and humid and they monitored the traffic for eight hours, you have my respect. Brian ”Browndog” Martin, what a friend! Harry Day is my new friend, what a guy. Joe Pelligrino, the skateparks step dad, Anne Marie from Phillips Arena, Corey from Nobyl Skateboards, you have a special place in Elaine’s heart. Joel at Fused, man, you're one of the best. All the bands that played, Kelly’s Heroes, Westside and my best of friends, The Thrillhammers, Chris Chandler cut his family’s vacation short just so he could be at the show and a special thanks to the Progressive Crew. How do I thank ya’ll enough?
Sorry for the rambling, all this has to be said. One more shout out, one of my family members, Dennis Adams, at 6:00 Tuesday evening we had ten tons of air-conditioning go out and I had no power to the stage, Dennis got it all up in time.
I took about a ten-minute break on Wednesday afternoon and sat in my office with the lights out, I could here the bands playing outside, BrownDog calling the contest through the PA and the general noise of people having fun. What a GREAT DAY, I knew Alex was smiling down on all of us. Thank God for giving me such good friends.
Respectfully,
Mike DeLuca
Please take a look at our sponsors and remember them in the future:
Long Horn Steak House (Harry Day, It wouldn’t be what it is without you)
Fused (Town Center Mall)
Phillips Arena (Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam)
Joe Pelligrino, (for making this his personal mission)
NOBYL Skateboards
Jeff and Carla Roach (Alex’s Wristbands)
Chastain Amphitheate
99x Radio
Buckhead Beef Company
BullDog Skateboards
Globe Shoes
Ambush Boarding Company
Eastern Skate Supply,
Vans Shoes
Adio Shoes
Krew Clothing Co.
Sole Technologies (Emerica, ES, Etnies)
Dwindle Dist. (Blind, Almost Skateboards)
BlackBox Dist. (Zero, Mystery)
Fallen Shoe Company
Coca Cola
Powerade
NHS Dist. (Krux Trucks, Ricta Wheels, Independent Trucks)
Satori Wheel Company
ESPN Sports Television
ABC Sports Television
Tom & Erin Hyser at Skatepile
Accel Wheels
DarkHorse Dist. (Dogtown and Termite Skateboards)
NIKE Pro Skateboard
Sheriff Roger Garrison and His Staff
Lake Arrowhead Fire Dept.
Sonic Drive-In’s
City of Canton
Walmart
Alien Workshop Skateboards
Speed Demon Skateboards
Kelley’s Heroes
Westend
The Thrillhammers
Ruin Skateshop
The Capital Grille
