On November 4, 2006,  Hearon Dickson raised over $10,000 for the skatepark by running the New York City Marathon – his first – with a time of 4:19:05. Now a resident of Raleigh, NC, Hearon and his family are one of the Menzer’s oldest and dearest friends. Pledges came in from all over the country to support his effort. Thanks, Hearon – you’re the winner, as far as we’re concerned!

In his words – Hearon’s original fundraising request:  

Friends: For the overwhelming majority of you, this is the first letter like this you have received from me. So here goes….

On January 22, 2006, our very dear friends, Kendall and Eric Menzer, received the phone call that every parent dreads. Their 14 year old son, Reid, had been hit by a car while riding on his “street luge” skateboard. By the time Kendall and Eric arrived at York County (PA) Hospital, Reid had died from his injuries.

Reid was a great kid!! Full of life and love and energy. Reid fully embraced everything and everyone around him, whether it was his participation on the Dallastown Cougars baseball team, playing in his band, Autumn’s Rising, skateboarding, or just hanging out with his friends. One of Reid’s dreams was that there would be a public skatepark in York. Such a park, Reid felt, would give kids a safer place to participate in this rapidly growing sport. The Reid Menzer Memorial Skatepark will serve to fulfill that dream and provide such a place for those youth. Continue reading →

City facility to be built in memory of teen killed in January

By Daina Klimans

The joys of grinding a handrail versus the thrill of dipping a skateboard into a deep bowl and coming out on the other side — they will all be up for debate. Skateboarders of all ages are invited to give their input on a York City skatepark. At a design meeting to be held Wednesday, skaters such as 16-year-old Matt Devlin will help decide whether the park will look like a city street, an otherworldly landscape of concrete dips and basins, or something in between. “I know a lot of people want street, but I think it would be cool to have a bowl,” said Matt. He said he hopes a variety of designs can be worked together, giving all users the kind of place they want to skate.

In memoriam: The park is being built in memory of Matt’s best friend, Reid Menzer, a York City boy who died in January at age 14. Reid had been riding a street luge, which is like a skateboard but ridden while lying down, when he was hit by a car. Reid, an avid skateboarder, had complained for years that the city did not have a skatepark. His death spurred family, friends and strangers to work together to build the park that he had wanted, for the benefit of other skateboard lovers. The concrete skatepark, to be built at the city’s Veterans Memorial Park, will be funded entirely through private donations. Designing it will be the Site Design Group Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., which has been involved in the creation of more than 80 skateparks, most of them on the West Coast. A representative of Site Design Group will survey skaters to find out what type of landscape they want to skate in and what kind of props they want for their tricks — “if they want the stairs, the handrails, the quarter pipes,” said Brad Siedlecki, designer and project manager for the company. Continue reading →