Matt’s Fundraiser:

[scuba diving Matt]

Hello Everyone,
The fundraiser was a great success, thanks to all of you.  There were a lot of people (approx 140) who showed up for the fundraiser to show their support, and a lot who couldn’t make it but still showed support.  We raised approx. $9,000 for my project.  This amount will make it possible for me to be able to pay for more of the equipment that I need. 

I finally was able to meet so many of my diving friends in person.  It was like a party all w/e.  It was so awesome to meet a celebrity like John Chatterton, he is a great guy.  It was great to meet my partner in all of this, Mike Lombardi and his partner, Donny.  Another great highlight was to finally get to meet one of my best dive buddies, Susan Long, from DUI.  Meeting Melanie Paul from Deep Sea Detectives was great too.  The diveheart crew was there also and it was so great to meet some of them in person.  Not to mention how great it was to see again some of my local dive friends, Drew and Frank.  Thanks too, to Polly, Blaise and Blaine for being so supportive of my dream. 

I was on Fox news last evening. 

My first open water dive is scheduled to be on June 17th and 18th of this year, at the DUI demo days in Black River Falls, WI at Wazee Lake.  Some of my friends are already talking about having another fundraiser there too.  Sometime this year also I am hoping to do my ocean dive in Key Largo, FL. 

Attached are a few pics from the fundraiser on 2/18/06. 

Again thank you to everyone.  None of this would have been possible without you.

Matt

[WIdiver_Paul]

Congratulations Matt,
    I knew your dream would become a reality and I predicted correctly that the dive industry would pull together and make it all happen. That's why diving is such a great sport, there are so many that have such a passion for it, we want everyone to see what we see. I feel priviledged to be able to participate and you make it obvious how much we take it for granted.
    Hopefully i'll be able to meet you at Wazee!

Paul Lothary

[dfreeman]

Matt,

The fundraiser was a great time and everyone had a lot of fun.  Lots of good people and great stories about diving.

Looking forward to see Matt at Lake Wazee.

Doug

[Vtach]

Glad everything went well for you Matt and the fundraiser was a success.  I would have liked to attend but I had work obligations.

[scuba diving Matt]

Thanks guys for all the great words. 

The fundraiser was a lot of fun.  Yes, and a lot of great stories from a lot of great people.  I really enjoyed myself. 

I look forward to Wazee lake 3 months and 12 days.  I hope to see you there.

I am also hoping to go to the DEMA show in FL this year and continue down to Key Largo to do my first Ocean Dive.

Take Care and hope to see you soon.

Thanks for all your support.

Matt