Saturday, January 30, 2010

5th Annual Ryan Rail Jam {Liberty Mountain Resort, Carroll Valley PA}

Ryan Lichtenberg was a former friend and employee of Liberty Mountain, and he was a frequent visitor to our terrain parks. While snowboarding in Colorado in 2004, Ryan passed away due to a head injury. Ryan's spirit and memory has been kept alive by his friends, family and Liberty over the past five years with the Ryan Rail Jam event.

Since Ryan's passing, helmet usage and awareness has become an integral part of Liberty's safety message and Safety Awareness Week event. Helmets have been highlited during recent Safety Awareness Weeks with helmet raffles and special promotions. This past year, for example, free helmets were given to those participating in Children's Learning Center programs and four winners were chosen to receive free helmets from the Liberty Mountain Sport Shop. "Safe Riding for Ryan" is the motto we use for the Ryan Rail Jam event and it helps to remind people that helmets are a smart choice.

While the weather was not in our favor, this year's 5th Annual Ryan Rail Jam was a success. Ryan's family and friends, including his mom, dad, grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins, all came to the mountain to be part of this special event. Each event participant received a Ryan bandana and sticker to remind themselves of Ryan and the importance of wearing a helmet when skiing and boarding. We hope that the event will continue to grow and encourage more and more people to wear helmets. Ryan's story and spirit will always have a home at Liberty.

Pictures from this year's event...

Ryan's mom Linda and Jonah, good friend of the Lichtenberg family.
A special THANKS goes out to Eastern Mountain Sports and Pitcrew as this year's sponsors. They provided us with some great prizes!
One thing that Ryan was known for and is remembered by...his smile.
Picture with Ryan's grandma.

The whole crew - Lichtenberg family and friends. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, and for your continued support of the Ryan Rail Jam and helmet awareness.

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