**Although our Foundation is no longer active, our commintment to honor his memory remains. The following is the history of the foundation as it was originally written. Thanks for visiting.
To fully appreciate why we established our Foundation, the Hockey Camp Scholarship Fund and the criteria for selecting children to assist, the following background information is provided.
Shortly after our son's death on December 1, 2005 we were determined to honor his life by establishing a Memorial to keep his memory alive while hoping to make a positive impact on other's lives. We considered a number of options, or should I say, I considered a number of options. My wife Phyllis aka Phyl, considered only one. We would establish an Organization to send children to Hockey Camp. We took the idea to Dustin's sisters, Kelli, Heather and Nicole, each of whom agreed that it was a perfect manner in which to memorialize their brother. After all we were a hockey family.
In fact we were a sports family. As sports enthusiasts ourselves, Phyl and I encouraged our children to become involved in any and all athletic activities they took an interest in. Our oldest enjoyed pom pons and dance, our middle daughter played soccer, softball, volleyball and skied, with the youngest excelling in soccer and downhill skiing. Dustin on the other hand wanted to do it all, except for pom pons and dance. We spent many hours at fields, gymnasiums and ski lodges. In addition, having a local Hockey team provided our family with an opportunity to attend a sporting event where we were all spectators. We spent many Friday nights at the arena watching the Flint Generals play, often accompanied by Dustin's beloved "Uncable Jim." Early on Dustin was content to stick with baseball, soccer and skiing with sporadic involvement with football, basketball, golf and even wrestling. Eventually all of the above would become a distant second to his primary love of Hockey.
It all began when at 7 years of age, Dustin announced to his mother that he wanted to play hockey. When informed of his intent, my initial response was, "son we can hardly keep up with your involvement with baseball, soccer, basketball, and skiing. Besides you don't know how to skate, not to mention the expense." My wife gave me one of those "if that's your best argument, you just lost" looks and I knew that we would be joining the ranks of rink rats. Her winning argument has since become the signature and Phylosophy of our Foundation, "if the kid want's to skate, let him skate." So off to the arena go the very excited Dustin and his Mom. After several inquires they were able to locate the Youth Hockey Commissioner, only to be informed that "registration was over and teams are already set." Never underestimate the effect a son's disappointed expression can have on a very determined Mother. Eventually the commissioner conceded that if a coach could be found to take Dustin on his team, they would allow him to play. The rest is "his story."
Upon meeting Dustin's coach and expressing our gratitude, we reminded him that Dustin could not skate. Swift came the coach's reply "give him a stick, put a puck in front of him and he will skate" ..... and skate he did! The next few years my wife and I spent many hours at various rinks attending Dustin's practices and games. As was the case with any sport Dustin played, his natural athleticism, drive for perfection and competitive nature became evident. It started out as what I thought would be a whim, and transitioned into a passion in Dustin that permeated our entire family. Although his sisters were at times less enthusiastic regarding the sport, they did attend a number of his games as well as accompany us to numerous Pro and College games. We were a hockey family.
From his very first goal on January 1, 1989, it was obvious that scoring goals was what he lived for. We have many photos and abundant video footage of Dustin, arms in the air and a smile visible from the very top row of the arena. His proficiency and instincts for goal scoring would soon lead to his nickname "The Hawk", coined by his coach as a result of his constant "hawking the net". While scoring was his strong suit, Dustin's speed and overall skating ability was average at best. That all changed when we discovered Red Berenson's Hockey Camp at the University of Michigan. Dustin's first year at camp, one of the U of M Players (we remember it being Brian Wiseman) pulled Dustin aside and said, "We are going to teach you how to skate the right way"
Between Brian's tutoring and lessons from a speed skater, Dustin began the following season as the fastest skater on his team. Coupled with a sudden growth spurt over the summer, he started a string of seasons where he was at or near the top of the stats sheet in goals and assists. One of his objectives was to score more goals in hockey then his older sister did in soccer. A daunting task indeed, but again his competitive nature fueled his determination. Unfortunately that same determination translated into intensity. That in turn translated into being at or near the top of that afore mentioned stat sheet in penalty minutes as well as goals. Dustin enjoyed attending Red Berenson’s Hockey Camp so much that he would encourage others to attend with him. We can recall one year when he asked us if we could pay for a teammate who said that he could not attend because he didn’t think his parents could afford it. He even offered to “somehow” pay us back himself. As it turned out the parents were happy to tighten the belt and pay for camp. That experience spoke to Dustin’s tendency to help and fend for others and was one of the inspirations behind our creation of the Scholarship Fund.
As time passed Dustin went on to play travel hockey, which was aptly named. Travel we did. So much so that our hockey family extended to coaches and families of the other players. Although Dustin's sisters were all older during this phase and had moved on to higher education and or families of their own, they still followed his hockey achievements. His middle sister, Kelli was by far the most avid Dustin fan. She could often be heard above the less vocal and expressive spectators as she cheered him on. On one particular occasion we attended an early morning Tournament game and then took the hour and a half drive back home for another important event: Kelli’s wedding! For Kelli, missing a Tournament game for any reason real or imaginary was simply “not an option”.
Some of our fondest memories of Dustin were created during the pre-game skate around. Like all who excel at hockey, Dustin was an excellent skater. The grace and style he exhibited when free skating belied the aggressiveness witnessed when the puck was dropped. On more then one occasion my wife would say to Dustin "grab your skates son, I want to watch you skate."
In our minds eye, we can still see Dustin gliding effortlessly around the ice, hair blowing freely in wind created by his apeed. If we are silent enough, the sound of his jersey can be heard cracking like a flag on a windy day. There is an incredible peace within those blue eyes that brings a smile and a tear as we sense a freedom within him, the likes of which he could never experience off the ice. As he passes, and without breaking stride, he turns to skate backward and we see him smile before he turns to skate away. It is then that we pray, give us one more time around son, just one more time around.
"if the kid wants to skate, let `em skate!"