Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
8/1/07 

Greetings Riders,
 
Wow! What a week we have had in the Phoenix area. Not only are we getting the violent nightly monsoons around the valley that we have to deal with, but last Friday, July 27th was a day we won't soon forget in our little town. I'm sure most of you have heard about the tragic-mid air collision of 2 of our local television helicopters. The helicopters were reporting on a police chase in Central Phoenix when they collided in mid-air, caught fire and fell to the ground where they erupted into flames. Fortunately, they fell into an area of Steele Indian School park where no one was. Had it been a half mile in any direction, casualties on the ground could have been severe as the VA hospital was just a few hundred yards away. Unfortunately, 4 men were killed in the accident, Craig Smith and Rick Krolak from Channel 15 and Scott Bowerbank and Jim Cox from 3TV.
 
For me, the moment I found out about the accident will probably be right up there with when I heard about John Lennon getting shot or when I heard that Elvis had died. I remember EXACTLY where I was and what I was doing on each of those occasions. This was almost one of those surreal moments when you think; "Awe, that couldn't happen here. This is the kind of thing you hear about in L.A. or New York. Not in our town". Well, we aren't the sleepy little town that we were 20 years ago. We are the fifth largest City in the United States and instead of one helicopter following the action there were six. Seeing these things in person a few times, I have to admit to wondering if something like that could ever happen.
 
My next thought, as well as a lot of you was, could it have been Bruce Hafner in the chopper? Not that Bruce was more important than Scott Bowerbank, but when you watch channel 3 in the morning every day like I do, Bruce IS Newschopper 3 and the guy that I see all the time and can relate to. So he was the first one that I thought about. As soon as I heard about it, I called Scott Pasmore who was on his way to the station, to see who it was. He said that Bruce was off for the mid day and back up pilot Scott Bowerbank and Photographer Jim Cox were in the copter. As I watched the coverage from Scott on 3TV and listened to the eye witness accounts of the accident for the next 4 hours, it was like 9-11 all over again for me, still not believing that this had really happened.
 
Watching the report was especially surreal because the news station had now become the news. You had reporters and photographers that worked with these 2 guys every day, now having to be professional, keep it together, put their personal heartaches aside for a moment to give all of us an accurate report of the story. Being close friends with Scott over the last 9 years, I could see the pain he was going through recalling stories about these two friends and co-workers only minutes after they had perished in this horrific accident. He did a great job and showed incredible professionalism as well as all of the other reporters at 3TV. Through my association with Scott I have had the opportunity to be at the station many times over the last several years and have gotten to know a lot of the people that work there. I can attest to the fact that their tagline of "Arizona's Family" is not just a tagline. They really are a Family and July 27th, 2007 was a devastating day for all of them. 
 
It was also a tough day for the viewers. Because we invite these people into our living rooms, bedrooms or offices every morning, we kind of feel like we know them. When they are talking into that camera, we think they are talking to us, not 50,000 other people at the same time. So when they hurt, we hurt. And coincidentally, since Bruce Hafner was on vacation, we had seen a lot of Scott Bowerbank filling in for him over the last couple of weeks. I personally did not know Bowerbank or Jim Cox, but I have to admit, I still felt the pain. Maybe it was my relationship with Pasmore or maybe seeing the staff of 3TV grieving, it was a very sad last few days. After attending the Memorial yesterday, I could really see the community coming together to support Channel 3 and pay their respects to these two great guys. The amount of flowers that were taken to the station was incredible and the memorial at Steele Indian School Park is amazing. There are a lot of good people in this town. 
 
But unfortunately, there are some real bad guys out there as well. Later that same night, a Phoenix Police Officer, George Cortez, was killed in the line of duty attempting to arrest a man for forging and trying to cash a $400 check. George was only 23 years old and married to Wife Tiffany and has two kids ages 4 and 2. He had gotten his dream job only 2 years ago with Phoenix P.D. and loved his work protecting the city streets. But instead of finishing out his career as a police officer, his life was cut drastically short because of some 20 year old loser that shot him in the face and shoulder while being arrested. Now his life is over and his young family's life is in complete disarray. As you can imagine, Tiffany is struggling with the sudden loss of her Husband and the Father of their 2 children. She said that they saw her 4 year old looking up into the sky. They asked him what he was looking for and he said "that he was trying to find Daddy in Heaven".
Click Here for a picture of George and his family.
Click Here for the 3TV video report.
Click Here for Arizona Republic article.
 
A Cyclerides.com reader suggested that I do a ride for those that perished in the helicopter crash. Since 3TV is such a great friend to the motorcycle community and usually the only media station to give any coverage to our events, I thought that was a great idea. So I called Scott and asked him if he would be interested in jointly doing a motorcycle benefit ride to honor the loss of those in the helicopter crash, give riders a chance to show our appreciation to those at Channel 3 and at the same time raise money for the George Cortez family. We have always wanted to organize a ride together and he thought it was a great idea. So we were off and running.
 
Here are the details:
 
Saturday, August 18th.
Chopper's Memorial Ride. Staging will be at the 3TV station located at 5555 N. 7th Ave. in Phoenix from 7am - 9am. We will then take a short escorted ride to Westgate City Center located at 91st Ave. and Glendale where there will be a stage and sound system set up so that the personalities at 3TV can address the crowd and give their thanks for all of the support you have given them through this difficult time. They are truly astounded and appreciative of all the love and support they have gotten and are eager to give their thanks to everyone who attends.
 
At this early stage there are commitments from Scott Pasmore, Dan Davis, Tara Hitchcock, Olivia, Patty Kirkpatrick, Brad Perry, Royal Norman and Bruce Hafner, who will be, you guessed it, riding a Chopper. The families of Jim Cox and Scott Bowerbank will also be there. I'm sure there will be many more of the on air and behind the scenes 3TV people in attendance. Tiffany Cortez and her kids will also be in attendance. So you will be able to pass on your condolences to her as well. The beginning and end of the ride will be shown LIVE on Channel 3. So be prepared, you might be interviewed. Donation will be $20 per Bike that will include a sticker like the graphic that you see on the flyer. All brands of motorcycles are invited. If you don't ride, you can meet the ride at Westgate and give a donation there. Click Here for the flyer and details.
 
I look forward to your help in making this a huge turnout for both 3TV and the George Cortez family. This is a great cause and should be a fun time. If there is a good reason to get the bike out of the garage at this time of year, this is it.

See you there. Click Here for the video of Scott announcing the ride on 3TV.
 
Thanks for your continued support,
Barry