On May 17th 2003, a grandson, son, brother, and most of all a friend to many was taken from us too soon. Stephen Smith, my brother, died from the result of a violent attack. There is not a day that goes by that I do not miss my brother, I don't think there ever will be.
For those of us who had the pleasure of knowing Stephen, aka huge, we will miss his sheepish grin and his love for making others happy, but most of all we will just miss Stephen being Stephen. He touched so many in such a short time.

I have created this web site and soon to be non-profit organization called ride-free in an effort create a lasting memory and to honor causes that I know in my heart Stephen would want us to support.

Our first goal is to finally build the skateboard park on Gabriola Island. I am told that several good people have been working on this project for some time now and they need our help to make this dream a reality.

It is my understanding, that all that stands in the way of this project's completion is, you guessed it, money. There are several fund raising events in the works. Some of the ideas being tossed around range from a memorial softball tournament to a Woodstock style concert if you would like to submit an idea please do so on our message board.

Long term we will look to make a positive impact with young people nationwide as we try our very best to prevent senseless deaths like Stephen's from occurring. We know we can not stop them all but if we can save even one family from going through the pain and heartache that we have gone through and will continue to go through then our mission will be a success.