$12,000 in one night - $38,000 to go
April 7, 2006
Darn near the rainiest day in Missoula's history and our groundbreaking still went off without a hitch. On Thursday, April 6 the MSA celebrated the soon-to-be-finished skatepark with a good ol' fashion ceremony. Over 100 people came down to McCormick Park to take part in the festivities. Missoula Mayor John Engen provided some laughs and encouraging words to the crowd. We figured that was worth giving him a free MSA shirt. Members of the MRA, Parks and Rec, the media and of course local skaters all listened as MSA President Chris Bacon thanked our enormous list of donors and people that have supported us over the years.
In true MSA fashion, the event was highlighted with more fundraising. Thanks to a sweet $10,000 donation from The Silver Foundation (which actually translates into $30,000 when you factor in our 2:1 matching pledge from an anonymous donor) everybody had smiles on their faces as the party moved to the Old Post Pub downtown, where $2000 was raised from merchandise sales and a percentage of beer sales throughout the evening. Big thanks to Jeaneane and the crew at the OPP as well as Big Sky Brewing. All in all, the kick off of the "Skate to the Finish" was a big success and, of course, a ton-of-fun.