Riding waves of hope

August 31, 2007

Riding waves of hope

Local surf event helps battle kidney diseases

BY JOHN M. JANOKAITIS
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

Rich Salick has waged courageous battles against kidney failure with a trio of transplants, fought the ravages of cancer and championed the Cocoa Beach Surf Company National Kidney Foundation Pro-Am Surf Festival.

But the Hall of Fame surfer's biggest accomplishments might be the mentoring of many young surfers who made Salick's Surfboard shop their hangout in the 1970s.

Several of them have grown up and contributed to the success of the popular tournament that, while celebrating its 22nd anniversary this weekend, has grown into the largest charity surfing competition in the world.

More than 800 surfers will compete in 30 professional and amateur divisions with nearly 20,000 fans expected daily. The event has raised more than
$4 million for patient programs provided by the NKF of Florida.

Things kick off this evening with a sponsor party and surfer registration at the Cocoa Beach Surf Company. Competition starts at 8 a.m. Saturday and continues through Monday at Shepard Park at the end of State Road 520.

"We have raised a lot of awareness and a lot of money for the kidney foundation through the years, but we couldn't have done it without plenty of help behind the scenes," Salick said. "Those Cocoa Isles guys -- Chris Leonard, Alden Pitard and Jim Broughton -- have been around since the beginning and did whatever we asked them to do. A few years later, Rich Walls joined the gang as well."

Leonard, 46, and Pitard, 48, are employed by The Boeing Company as a structures engineer and computer technologist, respectively. Broughton, 47, is an orbiter project engineer for NASA and Walls, 48, is manager of logistics and material business operations for United Space Alliance.

Boeing and USA's employee contribution programs have been generous to the cause by providing annual sponsorships and donations.

And while the foursome might have turned their surfboards in for computer keyboards, their thoughts are never far from Salick's influences.

"I was surfing on the Salick team for Rich and Phil (Rich's twin brother and his first kidney donor)," Leonard said. "And after watching Rich go through the first transplant rigor, we wanted to do whatever we could to help him."

An outstanding basketball player, Broughton's motives also were geared toward disproving the stereotype of the surfer attitude.

"My high school basketball coach at Cocoa Beach used to make me do 125 layups if I was late for practice because I was out surfing," Broughton said. "I felt a need to prove to the community that surfers weren't a bunch of beach bums."

After a series of competitions pitting Salick's team against local shops Ocean Avenue and Natural Art raised a few hundred dollars, the first official NKF Pro-Am was held in 1986. It raised $67,000, thanks in large part to the support of Dr. C. Craig Tisher, Chief of Nephrology at the University of Florida's Shand's Hospital.

"Rich would hold these small surf team events at the old Apollo building/Islander Hut and the money raised would go to NKF," said Pitard. "A few years later when Jim, Chris and I returned from college, Rich asked if we would like to help him organize a larger surf contest. We really didn't know what we were in for."

"We always wanted it to be bigger and better, but had to balance between keeping cost down and raising money," said Pitard. "Overall it has progressed to a good level, but we never lost sight of what we were doing -- raising money and awareness for kidney disease through a sport we all love."

While the accomplishments of the "Cocoa Isles Guys" are appreciated locally by the many donors and recipients directly affected by their charitable endeavor, they also have played key roles for the kidney foundation at the state level.

Leonard and Walls are former presidents, Broughton was vice president and Pitard served on the executive board.

"I've been continually impressed at the recognition this event has on a national level," Broughton said. "I've been to many National Kidney Foundation meetings and everyone has heard about what we are doing. They all wanted to meet the surf guys."

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