By Casey Holdahl

The third leg of the Kia “Make it Better” Statewide Summer Tour started off much like the first two excursions: In the loading dock of the Rose Garden. The Kia Sedona, already a seasoned veteran of the Summer Tour, idled quietly as we loaded all the gear necessary for a day trip to Marion County.

First stop: KYKN Radio in Keizer. A venerable caravan of Trail Blazers luminaries, including Team President Larry Miller, former player Michael Harper, legendary broadcaster Bill Schonley, voice of the Blazers Brian Wheeler, Vice President of Broadcasting Dick Vardanega, Community Programs Director Alissa Moore, Community Programs Coordinator Brittany Davidson and interns Jordan Davidson (Duke) and Andy Scott (Notre Dame) descended on Salem’s next door neighbor to talk shop at the station that provides the AM signal for the inhabitants of the state capital. Miller, Schonely and Wheeler hopped on air to discuss Portland’s basketball past, present and future with KYKN’s morning crew. I say Portland, but on these trips you quickly learn that while the Blazers may call the Rose Garden home, they are truly Oregon’s team.

Mike Firth, KYKN’s owner and general manager, was kind enough to give the group a tour of the station, which is home to an astounding number of Trail Blazers posters dating back at least two decades. Seeing walls adorned with photographs and illustrations of Arvydas Sabonis, Terry Porter, Bill Schonley and young Mike Rice reinforced the notion that this radio affiliate is serious about their Trail Blazers basketball.

After leaving a few tokens of appreciation with the folks at KYKN, we headed back to the vans to embark on the second stop of the day: the Salem Boy’s and Girl’s Club.

Some poor directions by yours truly tacked on a few extra minutes to an otherwise short trip, but we arrived with more than enough time to check out the facilities at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club before setting up for the free hoops clinic. I was a little worried the kids might not want to spend time working on their basketball fundamentals with pool tables, foosball and even a rock climbing wall at their disposal, but my fears were quickly dispatched when I saw over 70 young faces eager to get a little instruction from our crew. Michael Harper, who had participated in a clinic at that very same Boy’s and Girl’s Club years ago, set the tone for the camp by giving the kids a rousing pep talk.

After some quick stretches and calisthenics lead by Jordan Davidson, a member of the Duke basketball team, we broke up into smaller groups to practice dribbling, shooting and passing. Luckily for us, a few kind staffers at the club were happy to help with the drills, allowing the kids to get closer instruction.

We handed out prizes to a few exemplary campers after a few spirited rounds of Bump and a shooting contest created by Dick Vardanega. After that, Sun. E. Smart of Providence Health & Services stopped by to hand out free sun screen and tips on staying safe in the sun. Sun E., always a hit amongst the younger set, almost had to make an unexpected trip to Providence after an overzealous girl jumped on his back with no forewarning. Luckily, Sun E.’s back is just as strong as his desire to combat skin cancer.

After saying our goodbye’s and thank you’s, we stopped off for a quick bite before heading back north to Portland. After sleeping in our own beds tonight, we’ll head south again to Albany before heading east to the Bend/Redmond area for a few hot days in Central Oregon.

Summer Tour: Trip 3 Map | More "Make it Better"