Eskimo Escapades History
Eskimo Escapades was formed by John Cox, David Bernheim, John Tillett, and Buddy Coomer and
held its first event in 1995 at Ned Ray McWherter Park in Knoxville, TN on
January 14, 1995.
It continued there the next year, and then in 1997, the event moved to
its present location at Volunteer Landing in downtown Knoxville, TN. The first year at
Volunteer Landing goes neck and neck with the 2003 event as the coldest on record. That
year the water temperature was a particularly chilly 37 degrees and the air temperature high
was 28 degrees. It was painfully cold and there was a big drop in the number of skiers,
but the event still did well. 2003 was extremely cold again, with a high temperature of 27
degrees, recovery from a 3 inch snow on Thursday evening, and only 82 skiers.
Even with the
cold, snow, and drop in skiers, the event still raised $23,000 for its two local charities.
The event continued to grow with a record 150 skiers in 2005.
2006 was the first year that BWXT Y-12 in Oak Ridge sponsored the whole event and in doing so was instrumental in bringing in a record $40,000. Thank you employees of Y-12 for being such great sponsors and good skiers!
Below is a list of the 13 year skiers, volunteers and sponsors. If you know of someone we haven't included, please email us. These people have contributed countless hours of their personal time and energy making Eskimo Escapades a really great event.
Dave Sproul was one of Eskimo Escapades Shut Up & Ski! great volunteers. Dave also was a dedicated volunteer for the Patricia Neal IRC, one of the charities EEF benefits, and he was always there at water ski clinics helping amputees and people with spinal cord injuries and brain injuries learn to water ski.
14 Year Total Funds Raised: $319,500!
|
| Eskimo Escapades Players | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Year Sponsors | 13 Year Skiers | 13 Year Volunteers | EE Board for 2008 |
|
L.B. Steele Catering Malibu Boats MasterCraft Boats Ski/Scuba TDS Telecom Travis Marine WBIR |
David Carter Daniel Funk Harvey Letson Joe Thompson |
Steve Cox Joe Thompson |
Matthew Porterfield President Joe Thompson Vice Pres Shara Cross Secretary Jeannette Porterfield Treasurer Scott Schoolcraft Darrick Blankenship Rebecca Blankenship Kelli Thompson Steve Jordan Stephanie Jordan Dennis Clark Donald Cross Janice Christman |
