Crossville Skatepark Journal: September 2004

Saturday, September 25, 2004

We've started skateboarding lessons...

Coach Duff teaching our first skate class. Nice work Duffer.

Noah learns how to ride the board.

Austin gaining speed for trick.


Big air for Terrance's cousin. He nailed the landing.


What a great meeting we had on Friday. About 20 skaters and several parents and volunteers showed up. We loaned out our just donated skateboards to folks who didn't have one and began skate lessons. Plus, our longtime volunteer, Pat W., is looking over our 501C application process. We're well on our way to a skatepark. Keep spreading the word to area skaters and those who want to learn to skate can learn after the meetings on Fridays.

Friday, September 24, 2004

Equipment Donations Coming In!




Last week we received the first of what we hope will be many donations of used or new skate equipment to the Crossville Skatepark Association. Eastern Skateboard Supply out did themselves. They donated trucks, bearings, decks, griptape and even a couple of tshirts to the skatepark (check out the photos above of Duff, Sam, Courtney, Javan, Noah, Mercy and Heather organizing them at our house last Sunday). If you get a chance, drop Nate a line at Eastern and tell them thanks.

This equipment will be available for skaters who don't have equipment to use during our skate classes or at home until they can get their own equipment. Everyone will need to sign a release form to use the equipment.

- Frank

Saturday, September 11, 2004

All Washed Up

Well, we did it. Our first major skatepark fundraiser was a great success. Thanks to the help of a very dedicated crew we raised almost $200 for the skatepark (minus the pizza for the lunch) which came out to about $175 and some change. We were blessed with great weather and a huge clearance sale at KMart (thanks Blue Light shoppers!). We had a blast and got a tan to boot.

Here are some things you may not know that we learned about the car wash crew:

- Sam wears Hello Kitty boxers (we censored that photo. Too scary!)
- Terrance has a motorcycle that his mom bought him just for the car wash. Really.
- Sam and Terrance are preparing for joining the Army by sleeping in parking lots all night (plenty of those in Iraq)
- Randy (Duff's roomate) fractured his wrist skateboarding the night before and spent most of the evening in the hospital. Yes, that was a real bandage on his arm, not just a sympathy wrap. He got a shot in the half pipe at the hospital when they were working on his arm. Ouch!
- Courtney, Jordan
and Heather are the best workers I've ever seen at the car wash! Ok, ignore the fact that in most of the pics below they are standing around talking. Got to dig those tshirts they made!
- April, who we thought was quiet and shy, turned out to be the most outgoing of the whole crew. She braved the gestures from folks driving by to pull in quite a few cars. She even snagged folks going through the KMart parking lot. Relentless! Her next stop is to go after the City Council.
- Duff...well I think the picture speaks for itself.

And maybe by now you've figured out that the drill sergeant barking at you to wash, rinse, shine and keep moving was Frank. Yes, I was in the military.

To the rest of the crew (Josheph, Eli, Caleb, Nathan, James, Julian, Javan, Mercy, Eric and anyone else who I forgot) who quietly and diligently washed cars and held signs--a huge thank you. To Asoni my wife and kids who scrubbed, brought lemonade and ordered pizza--you're the best.

See you at the next skatemeeting on September 17th at 5pm
at the Gazebo next to the county courthouse on Main Street.

Frank McClung
Skatepark Coordinator

Courtney preparing for a management position.




Austin: Where's the car?


Duff buffs.


Noah inspects a car.


Future Crossville Mayor. Does windows too.


Those dark colored trucks were tough to get clean.


Duff faces a skeptical crowd.


Pointing out the hose that almost blew up on us.



The cameraman's last photo before Jordan got a hold of him!

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Sick Pics from last Skatepark meeting.

Here are some photos from our last meeting. Join us at the car wash this Saturday, September 11 from 10-2pm at KMart. Enjoy.









Thursday, September 02, 2004

From big air to pavement and back.

This has been quite a week for the skatepark. We started out with some big air at the county fair. The crew collected almost 1000 petition signatures and dozen business support forms. Folks in Crossville were very excited to hear about the new park. We hope to hit a few more large events like these in the coming months to gather signatures. Great work Duff and crew!

Ran into a snag with a local church who is willing to sponsor the temporary park until a larger one can be built by the city. After talking over the liability insurance issue with their legal advisor, it seems there is no way to ensure (not "insure") the church can't be sued, regardless of signed waivers and releases by skaters. We'll be getting together to discuss other options/solutions if there are any. Otherwise, we head to the City Council sooner than expected.

More to come.


Pics from the last skatepark planning meeting...





Here are some photos from our last meeting (Click on the image to see a larger view). That's Duff, Austin and Cody (I think) doing some sick tricks. We met at the Courthouse gazebo, which is a "No Skating" zone to remind us how badly a park needs to be built. Plus, the surrounding terrain offers some nice post meeting sessions. Hope to see everyone at the next meeting on Friday at 5 p.m.

If you want to join us, check out our other websites at:

CrossvilleSkatepark.com
>>
TShirts>>
Petition>>
More Photos>>