For some reason, longboards are popular here at Youth-Reach. For anyone who does not know, a longboard can either be a long surfboard or a long skateboard. For the purpose of this reference, we are talking about the skateboard variety.
The boys use them as human-powered transportation from the homes to the education building and to roam around the campus. Several of these longboards, though still quite functional, are looking pretty ragged. When our friend, Doug Stringer, showed up with a beautiful, brand-new longboard and offered it to Curt, we knew that such a treasure would ignite either controversy, a fight or competition. We chose competition.
Our school teacher, Jarod Dyess, limited the competition to only the Stage Two boys, and the longboard’s ownership would be decided by three categories: There was a written essay portion, there was a competition to see who had the best “tick” or skateboard trick, and there would be an all-out skateboard race. In the end, the winner was Dakotah. In his essay, he shared how before he arrived here, he had never learned to skate but had always wanted to learn. He told of how the boys at Youth-Reach taught him to skate, and when he returns home, he wants to teach young kids how to do the same.
Our thanks to Doug, a longtime friend and a member of our Board of Advisors, for gifting us this longboard and for giving the boys an opportunity to earn it.
