{image1} At 27 years old, Melissa "Mel" Flemming decided she was going to learn to skateboard, so she invested in the proper equipment and started going to the Four Seasons skate park in the Menomonee Valley.
It didn't take long for the kids in her Riverwest neighborhood to notice her lugging her board around, and they wanted to get in on her fun. However, most of the kids came from families that were unable or unwilling to provide the necessary equipment, so Flemming decided to help and her non-profit organization, The Hot Boards, sprang to life.
Art Bar, 722 E. Burleigh St., holds a benefit party for The Hot Boards on Saturday, Feb. 26 with live music from Holy Mary Motor Club at 8 p.m.
The event ties into Art Bar's latest show, 3" From the Street, a graffiti skateboard show featuring decks painted by 19 artists from around the world. The traveling show has only a couple of stops, and it opens in Milwaukee on Friday, Feb. 25.
"We brought a bit of ourselves into the project and succeeded in turning a skateboard into art," says Joshua E. Brown, show producer.
The Hot Boards originally launched two years ago with the help of a benefit party and other local businesses.
Flemming approached a variety of local businesses, including Foundation, Adambomb Gallery and Luckystar Studio, and all of them agreed to kick in.
Flemming organized a benefit to raise the money needed for pads and helmets. Plus, Four Seasons agreed to let Hot Boards bring 15 kids to the skate park on Sundays; Beer City donated 15 complete decks (skateboard minus the wheels) and Flemming's dad gave her a minivan to help transport the kids.
Today, The Hot Boards reaches out to more than 60 kids in Milwaukee, predominantly in the Riverwest and South Side neighborhoods. The emphasis is on skateboarding, but members learn a variety of other physical and emotional skills.
Flemming still takes 15 kids to Four Seasons every Sunday, free of charge, but expanded the program. Every other Saturday, The Hot Boards meets at UPROC skate shop on Center Street to do various activities like watching movies, field trips, art projects, community service and more.
The Hot Boards also has an online magazine so members can learn about journalism, improve their writing and develop successful communication skills.
The Hot Board's Web site is thehotboards.org.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
