I received a phone call at the surf shop from concert promoter Rob Dean asking if I would like to donate a surfboard for the upcoming charity benefit for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Knowing of all the great things St. Jude has done, I jumped at the chance to help. Clyde Beatty Jr. agreed to make the board, and we were off. Matt Krieger supplied us with art for the board, and I decided to have two boards made.

Weeks later the boards were done and delivered to Rob. He absolutely flipped when they were received. Rob stated they were going to start the auction at $1,500.00. Telling Rob I thought that was a little high, He stated we could always lower the price during the auction.

I went to the Moorpark Country Club the night prior to the concert for a meet and great with Robby Krieger from the Doors. Robby and Scott Medlock have been friends since 1991, when Scott was selected to paint the winner of the LA Open golf tournament. They became friends and have been involved with charity events ever since.

The day of the event was absolutely a whirlwind of fun, meeting great rock stars I’ve watched my whole life, and making sure that they all signed the boards for auction. The auction started off with items donated including private golf games with Robby Krieger, 5 day vacations in fantastic Mexico locations, diamond jewelry, and many more. Bidding was not going that well when I turned to my Brother-in-law and told him I was worried about the price the boards were going to bring in.

The time came when one of the boards were brought out to auction, and I was very nervous. The bidding started at $1,500.00 with no one bidding on them. Then someone bid the $1,500.00, and then the bidding just went crazy!!! They were up to $4,600.00 when the other board was brought out. The auctioneer had the two bidder’s attention, and got them to agree on $4,250.00 for each board. I was ecstatic!!!!! WaveFront Surf Shop had help raise $8,500.00 for the event. The boards were the highest money raised surpassing even signed guitars by band members.

The concert was unbelievable. The main band consisted of Robby Krieger (The Doors), Tommy Thayer (Kiss), Danny Seraphine (Chicago) and Jonny Lang. Throughout the night special guests came out and performed including members from Oingo Boingo, Counting Crows, Chicago, and many more. It was a great event to say the least, with over $250,000.00 being raised.

After the concert while on stage, Robby even took time to thank Clyde Beatty Jr. for shaping the board. After Robby handed the phone to me, Clyde did not believe it was him. I sent him this picture the next day to him. How could you deny this?

A special thanks goes out to Scott Medlock, Robby Krieger, Rob Dean Promotions, the band members, and everyone else involved for a great event. I look forward to doing this for many years.

Photo's courtesy of AJ Matis, Scott Medlock, and Marc Hesthal.