Today was a fun event that we get to go to that shows the culmination of a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of individuals. Something that is providing a legacy for everyone involved.
June 21st is International Skateboarding Day. Who knew, I thought it was just the first day of summer here in the northern hemisphere. The Town held a Skateboarding day at the Three Musketears Stake Park in Acton. Today was also to mark the third anniversary of the park opening.
The Three Musketears Skate Park is named in honour of 3 young boys who were killed tragically 10 years ago this year. Travis Toth, Rory Dick and Mark Everson all were killed by a train as they were going to school in Milton. A tragedy like that is something you never forget. Travis worked for me and was a fine young man.
But out of the tragedy the families and friends banded together and started holding a annual golf tournament. The proceeds for the first few years were given to the future Acton Skate Park. Which at that time did not have a suitable location.
Both Mayor Rick and I served on the ASAP (Action Sports Action park) committee which had the dream of having a skate park built for the youth of Acton. The group had dedicated volunteers led by Deb Fendley who worked with the town and the community to find a suitable site.
The Three Musketears Group were approached and agreed to be the lead sponsor for the Skatepark. The unique spelling is so that the park and the boy’s memories will always be preserved.
Today as we watched the park fill up with BMX bikers and skateboarders it really felt like a vindication that a project we worked on for so many years was a huge success. The park has been the subject of very little vandalism and is in use on every nice summer day until dusk. Some of the youth who served on the committee were driving by the time the park was completed. We all knew that “If you build it they will come!”
The friends and Families of Travis, Rory and Mark can be proud of the legacy that is there for a future generation of skateboarders and BMX Bikers. The main committee of Deb Fendley, Lynda Bowen, Helen Colvin, Aaron Matthews, Julia Roehrig, Rakesh Mistry, Alex Roehrig, Frances Niblock, Mayor Rick Bonnette and myself are all grateful to the community for there support in believing the project as much as we had.
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