What a rush! JSAW’s annual Block Party event took place last weekend. It was a ton of fun and a tremendous amount of work. In one day the Block Party consisted of two skateboarding contests, one snowboarding contest, a live band and tons of prizes and free gear. As riders entered Help Boardshop they were not only given a wristband which allowed them to ride, but a personal invitation to JSAW’s Wedn esday night Bible studies. Now let us get to how I felt the event went.
[Ryan Yost backwards krooked nose grind]
First, I was so impressed by the level of riding. The winner of this years’ Minute to Kill It contest and best trick down the six stair was Ryan Yost. Ryan is 28 years old and fell in love with skateboarding at a young age. He is also a regular attendee at our Wednesday night Bible studies. I was not only happy about his performance, but his influence on the adolescent crowd watching. It is pretty unusual to find an amazing athlete like Ryan in the skate community that does not brag about his drug use, partying, or activities with women. This is just one moment I saw God working in amazing ways at this event.
[Nick Lundquist front board slide]
Second, I do not know about the rest of the staff members at JSAW, but I felt blessed to have the snowboarding community gather right at our doorstep. To be candid, we had over 40 riders at Help Boardshop and riding at the same time! This was a first and a definite improvement from last year. Having the snowboarders show up is in itself amazing. This is because not all snowboarders like to skateboard, so when summer rolls around the community scatters. Therefore, to be snowboarding in September really brought people together and got the hype up for this upcoming winter season.
[Our amazing volunteers Barret Gosen and Patrick Russell shoveling snow]
Lastly, thanks again to everyone who made donations or volunteered their time to help with this event. We could not have pulled it off without faithful donors, volunteers and sponsors. Pray that the connections made and personal invitations handed out are used by God to reel in riders to the Bible studies and transform the action sports culture.
Blessings,
Jake Tastad
Program Direction, JSAW