The skateboard group of students formed, developed a plan to achieve their goal of getting a skate park, began planning fundraisers, and spoke with community leaders and Mayor Blais of Lake George Village.

Fundraisers included a Spaghetti Dinner, St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, selling spots for the Village Garage Sale, Fun World Party, and a Hair Cut-a-thon. The group did a survey at the high school regarding future use of a skate park and spoke with Mayor Blais, the Lake George Youth Commission and the School Board about possible locations, reasons to support a skate park in this area, etc.

Major fundraisers were a Video Tournament, Spaghetti Dinner, St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, Village Garage Sale, an Americade Raffle of free housing/food/gas and admission for 2011 Americade, & selling skate park t-shirts. A sign was put up in Shepard Park to chart the progress of money raised. A skate plaza Facebook page was set up. The skate group presented to the Town of Lake George Board and to the environmental groups involved in the park project at the former Gaslight Village site, and wrote letters in support of the Village’s application for a grant from the Charles construction companies. The skate group developed informational sheets about the skate park for meetings of various community groups, and an initial postcard for the skate park was designed gratis by black dog DESIGNS. These sheets and postcard were then handed out at all skate plaza functions.

Major Fundraisers included a Spaghetti dinner, Skate Demos, Skate Demos at the 1st Annual Sham Rock the Block Party, a Pig Roast, collection and recycling of bottles at the Lake George Recreation Center, Community Garage Sale, and a booth at Americade for donations. The skate group met with the Rotary to ask for money (who promised $1,000 to the group for the park) and the environmental groups. The skate group was asked to walk behind Bishop Hubbard for the dedication of the new Sacred Heart Church. They also presented a decorated shoe on a mini skateboard to Rachael Ray during her annual cooking fundraiser at Lake George High School. The group attended Public Hearings to make their case for the inclusion of the skate park in the former Gaslight Village site, and they were successful – the park then had a location in a perfect setting! The group spent time researching skate parks and determining the elements and flow they wanted to see in the park which would work for competitions.

Major Fundraisers included a Winter Carnival coin drop, Skate Demos at the 2nd Annual Sham Rock the Block Party and at Shepard Park throughout the summer with music donated by DJ Jelley, July 7th Coin Drop on Canada Street, and the Ondeck Lake George Exhibit (skate boards designed and donated by various artists which were displayed and auctioned on line – this raised over $2,000 for the skate park, and the art work was truly incredible!). In Spring, the skate group met with a new design company for the skate park. The company then developed a new design to be implemented in two phases – Phase I is a triangular shaped skate plaza with various elements, and Phase II will include a bowl and slight revision of one leg of the triangle. This design is to enhance the park’s use for small regional competitions, and to get the skate park built as soon as possible. An application was made to the Town of Lake George for bed tax monies, as the skate park will be a tourist draw and provide an attraction for local and tourist teens/pre-teens alike. The skate group also coordinated with a graphic designer to develop a Summer rack card which was then distributed to various hotels and restaurants in the area. This rack card listed the dates of the skate demos and the Ondeck Lake George Exhibit, as well as the proposed new design for the skate park. The skate group is also working with Jesse Tyree, of Black Dog Designs to design a website for the skate plaza, which should be online by the beginning of 2013.