By Casey Holdahl

The Sunriver Resort, our gracious hosts for the last two days of the third leg of the “Make it Better” Summer Tour presented by Kia Motors, is a beautiful place to kick back and relax. From golf to swimming to tennis to bike riding, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to recreational activities in the dry, high desert air. But the Summer Tour isn’t about sunning by the pool or finding the fairway. It’s about getting out into the communities that have supported the Trail Blazers despite being hundreds of miles away. With that in mind, we rolled out of our rooms extra early with a full schedule of community meet and greets ahead of us.

That’s not to say we didn’t have a great time. In fact, quite the opposite is true. We were lucky enough to be joined the night before by Team President Larry Miller, Director of Player Programs Chris Bowles and Sponsorship Service Manager Kilynn Honiotes, so we rolled nine deep into the first stop of the day, a breakfast with Wells Fargo employees at the Deschutes Brewery. A spectacular view of Mt. Bachelor, along with a friendly group from Wells Fargo, greeted us as we sat down for the first meal of the day.

After a brief introduction from radio analyst Antonio Harvey, Larry Miller stepped up to the mic to speak on what the Trail Blazers had accomplished this season as well as what could be expected from the franchise for years to come. We dined on eggs, bacon. potatoes and the best scones I’ve every had as Larry, a man whose accomplishments garner instant respect from those in the business community and beyond, told of our quest to change the culture of the franchise.

Usually I’d be disgusted by the thought of leaving the Deschutes Brewery without imbibing at least one (or all) of their delicious beers, but the early hour and the fact that close to 70 kids were waiting for us to arrive for a basketball clinic soothed my disappointment. Antonio, along with VP of Broadcasting Dick Vardanega, broke away from the rest of the group to visit KBND, our radio affiliate in Bend, while the rest of us left for Skyview Middle School without having partaken in so much as a drop of Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter or Obsidian Stout.

We arrived at Skyview after a few twists and turns through downtown Bend to find a group of kids had already arrived for the camp. We were joined again by Antonio and Dick after interns Jordan Davidson and Molly Meadows lead the campers through some stretching and calisthenics. After warm-ups, we broke off into different stations to work on ball handling, free throw shooting, rebounding and boxing out. With those skills thoroughly practiced, we finished the camp by having a competition to see who the best shooters and dribblers in the camp were. With the prizes awarded, Antonio answered a myriad of questions from the kids regarding the Trail Blazers. We finished off the camp with an appearance by Sun E. Smart from Providence Health Services.

With the camp wrapped up, it was on to the Bend Golf and Country Club for a lunch with the Bend Rotary. Larry commanded the room once again, answering questions about Greg Oden, ticket sales and the overall state of the franchise.

After a quick stop off at KRCO radio, another member of the Trail Blazers Radio Network, we finished the day by heading back to Sunriver. I suppose we could have worked in nine holes of golf or a bike ride through the wilderness with the sun still high in the sky, but after a full day of activities, taking a nap provided all the excitement anyone in the group needed.

Summer Tour Maps: Trip 1 | Trip 2 | Trip 3 | Trip 4

Tour Stops: Salem | Albany | Bend | Prineville

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