Bevan's first fund-raiser held
Mountain Mail July 22, 2003
Photo by Michael D. Reed
Winners of the July 17 competition laugh with Brooke Bevan in Riverside
Park after the event she held to raise money to send her to the World
Cup Championship competition in Australia. From left are Jeff Dunlap,
Brad Goettemoeller, Bevan and J.D. Henderson
Brooke Bevan, 15, Salida, is organizing a kayak
free-style competition as a fund-raiser to help send her to Rock
Island, Tenn. to compete in the U.S. team trials for the kayak World
Cup Championship.
The first of Bevan’s three fund-raising competitions was held
July 17.
Winners were J.D. Henderson of Cleveland, Tenn. in first place. Brad Goettemoeller of Salida finished second and Jeff Dunlap of Buena Vista was third.
The second competition will be Thursday and the third will be July 31 – both at 6 p.m. at the lower play hole downstream of the F Street bridge in Salida.
Entry fee is $8 per competition. Tax deductible donations may be made to Brooke Bevan in care of the Arkansas River Trust.
Prizes for the competition are day passes to Monarch Ski and Snowboard Area, sweatshirts from Smith Optics and knit caps from Monarch.
Bevan said many businesses in Salida made donations enabling her to go to Austria last year and she would like to thank them all.
This year she has corporate sponsorship from Teva sandals, PowerBar, Smith optics, Wave-Sport kayaks, Monarch, Ark-ansas River Trust, FIBArk and the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center.
Bevan, a lifetime Salida resident, won first in the junior-women’s division of the team trials earlier this year, but did not place at the World Cup Championship in Graz, Austria.
She was voted the toughest kayaker in the world by the professional kayakers at the competition in Austria for her enthusiasm for paddling into the violent hole, called The Terminator.
Bevan is raising money to enter the competition in Rock Island, Tenn., and for the trip there.
In Tennessee she hopes to earn a spot on the United States team so she can compete in the World Cup Championships at Penrith Whitewater Stadium, Australia, next year.
Bevan’s mother, Holly Bevan, said, “It’s an indication of the opportunities available to young ladies these days. If they believe they can do things, they can.”
Her father, Jeff Bevan, said, “For a girl her age to pursue this level of competition is admirable. It teaches discipline and organizational skills that will serve her well in life.”
He said he doesn’t worry about the risks Brooke takes because he believes she knows her limitations.
Jeff said Brooke turned down an invitation last spring to paddle Oh Be Joyful creek near Crested Butte because she didn’t feel ready to paddle the many waterfalls — one 26 feet high —on the creek.
“I respect her judgment,” her father said.