All remaining stops on the Trail Blazers Summer Tour have been canceled
Summer Tour Leg 1 map
In 1970, Harry Glickman sent Bill Schonely on the road with the following marching orders – ‘Put a radio network together!’
The Schonz put on his sales hat and recruited 13 affiliates that year and the Trail Blazers Broadcast Network was born. Now at 20 stations, including new Portland flagship, “The Game,” the Network also includes Comcast Sports Net NW and network television affiliates in Portland, Medford and Eugene.
In homage to Schonely, the Trail Blazers will renew a summer tradition by visiting each out of market affiliate during a four-week summer-long journey throughout Oregon and Southwestern Washington.
The Trail Blazers “Make It Better” Statewide Summer Tour, presented by Kia Motors, will visit 19 communities throughout Oregon & Washington, covering more than 2,000 miles in a 2008 Kia Sedona to host free kids’ basketball clinics and visit with fans, broadcast affiliates and corporate partners.
Also supported by Providence Health & Services and Nike, the tour will feature visits from Trail Blazers broadcasters Mike Barrett, Mike Rice and Antonio Harvey as well as senior executives, Trail Blazers alumni and Blaze the Trail Cat. The Trail Blazers and Kia will partner with local service organizations at each locale to provide free basketball clinics for as many of 5,000 kids, ages 7-13, during the tour. Providence Health & Services, one of the Trail Blazers’ newest corporate partners, will talk to kids at each clinic about guidelines for healthy living.
The Statewide Summer Tour is part of the Trail Blazers continued commitment to “Make It Better.” Under the “Make It Better” umbrella, Trail Blazers community outreach programs touched more than 93,000 people in Oregon and SW Washington during the 2007-08 season.
At every stop on the tour, visit here for updates, photos and highlights from what is sure to be a wild ride.
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The Kia Sedona idled in front of my Pearl District apartment at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, an early start to a most unusual week on the job as camp counselor, goodwill ambassador and official Internet correspondent for the “Make it Better” Statewide Summer Tour.
Ninety minutes and one venti coffee after we began, our equipment van was loaded and the caravan was en route to Eugene, the first stop on a 19-city tour to visit team broadcast affiliates, host free basketball clinics and the spread the Blazers gospel. >>>continue
Making it Better by the bay
What do you get when you have not one, but two GPS systems in your car? Lost!
As a result, Traci, Antonio and I were fashionably late to the Coos Bay Boys and Girls Club. We arrived to more
than 125 kids awaiting our arrival, not to mention a number of parents and media. >>>continue
Making it Better: Canyonville
After a restful night in the splendorous surroundings of Seven Feathers, we headed for the Umpqua Boys and Girls Club, a facility in Roseburg that serves more than 300 kids on a daily basis. >>>continue
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Making it Better: Klamath Falls
Our friends in K-Falls took hospitality to a new level on day four. We were treated like royalty everywhere we went, mostly thanks to Antonio, who at 6-10 looks the part of the Trail Blazer despite his advancing years! I kid. He’s still about 10 years younger than Mutombo, but has wisely moved to a more leisurely line of work. >>>continue
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Making it Better: Medford
From the moment we announced our intention to tour the state of Oregon on the “Make It Better” Statewide Summer Tour, few communities have gotten behind the tour like Medford. >>>continue
