Newsletter 11/16/2023
Our mission is "To teach and transform lives through inline and roller skating."
Weekly Class Updates
Hello Skaters (and parents),
This is our last weekend of classes for the month as we are closed Thanksgiving Day Weekend, so join us for classes. And super fun who is coming to teach:
1. Regular classes all weekend
2. Shaun is teaching Skate Jam, and this is his last class until January. Sunday 10am
3. Naomi is in town and will be teaching Sunday classes both hours (8:45 & 10am)
4. Apprentice class continues this weekend and takes a break for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
5. Skate Journeys now has business cards with QR codes that we’d love to have you share on community bulletin boards, or with your friends. Ask the staff for one at classes.
Upcoming Classes & Events
1. Our Fall fundraiser launches with the in-person event: Free 2 hour skate at Lynnwood Bowl & Skate on Thanksgiving Day morning. It’s our Thanks-SKATING-Day skate. 9am to 11am. Students and family/friend’s welcome. No lessons. Skate and gear rental is free but is first come first served. We’ll play some games; we’ll do a short Roller Fitness class to get you warmed up. Adults, kids, family friendly. Skate before you pig out.
2. Holiday camps are coming: Friday/Sat/Sun of Thanksgiving Day weekend. 9am to noon. $20 per hour, or $50 for all three hours. If you come for two days and buy the full three-hour package ($100) you get Sunday free. On Sunday Mason will be there teaching & playing at slalom. See more here.
3. Skate Journeys is available to run after school and in school programs at area schools. Reach out with any contacts for your kid’s schools if you want us there! We now have staff who can take it on!
4. Starting next week our Newsletter will now be arriving on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays.
Tip of the Week
Soft Knees
Your knees should be soft when skating… this means that they move up and down like the shock absorber on your car, managing to keep you steady through the movement for the more you are doing. A great example is crossovers in a circle. It’s ballet when they are moving up and down, and a scarecrow if you lock the knees.
Employee Spotlight
Jean Gea:
Jean Gea joined Skate Journeys in 2018 when he was discovered buying skates at Shop Task with his friend Raymond. He accepted the invite to take a class and one led to many more classes and Jean, who is a very natural skater, learned quickly. In 2020 he got certified and has been volunteer teaching for SJ ever since. The cool thing about Jean is that he has had so many valuable questions and ideas for SJ, so much so we asked him to join the Board of Directors for Skate Journeys. Jean works for Amazon and shares so many great ideas and thoughts gleaned from his exec job. He continues to be highly involved and continues to shape the direction for SJ.
In 2022 he wanted to ask his girlfriend to marry him, and we created a rather elaborate way to make it happen: Naomi Grigg created a dance for a “flash mob” and we all practiced it for a few months. On Thanksgiving, 2022 we performed the Flash Mob Dance, live on Facebook. Elaine’s family were watching it from Vancouver, BC, Canada. We navigated Elaine up to the front of the group, along with Jean and it ended with Jean asking Elaine to marry him. And she said YES! The reason to share this story is that Jean is fun, creates fun projects, and does it while creating fun in our community. Jean & Elaine started a Monday night skate in Georgetown, which is well attended in warmer times. Being around Jean is like enjoying comfort food, but it’s really, really good for you. I recommend you find Jean in classes or the open skate and introduce yourself. Jean, thanks for all you do for us! We are grateful for your presence, your delightful smile and your energy. You are so, so great.
Donations & Volunteers
Hey, do you have tablets and surface pro’s that you are ready to discard but they have a lot of life in them? With our new Client Portal, we’ll need several of these and we’d love to have yours…if it has good life in it. We can give you a donation receipt. Bring it to class or contact Trish@skatejourneys.org to get more details. We need to run Canva, Microsoft products and Sales Force, so should have THAT type of capacity. Thanks!
We need a few volunteers at classes. It will be easy, and we’ll train you. Apply with Tamara@skatejourneys.org
Thank you for your support! Trish & the SJ Team