Utah Windriders Association

As you know, Don Losee is an x-marine and a good friend, great kiter and, to me, a beautiful man. He has severe PTSD and just got a pretty bad DUI last saturday. Donnie and I are engaged and live together and I am here with my 2 kids while Donnie will be in jail for the next several months.
He asked me to send a message to his friends and see if anyone might be able to help out and wanted me to let you know that all of his gear is for sale. Kites, boards, skis, gear, you name it.
I wish each and everyone out there a beautiful holiday season and regardless of anything I thank you for your friendships both to me and to Don.
My email is anneliese.losee@gmail.com and my phone is 801-602-0892
If you want to reach Don he is at the Summit county jail in Park City and his day for visits is Thursday. He obviously won't have his cell, I will have it tomorrow and I will also be responding to emails on his account.
About 3B, I will be speaking with his son Max, who as you know currently runs loseelongboards.com and he will be helping out to get products going.
Take care and Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Anneliese

I went to visit Don today.  He seems to be doing as well as can be expected given his circumstances.  That said, he faces some tough times ahead, and his countenance reflects this.  I guess I'm lucky in that this was the first time I ever visited someone in jail.  It was just like you see in the movies,  with thick glass separating us and we spoke over an old style phone.  I have no idea what it would be like to be on the other side of that glass and am thankful for that.  I understand that Don is there because of choices he made.  If you're an average person, like me, there might have been a time or two in your life where, if not for a turn of luck in your favor, you could have found yourself in Don's current situation.

Anneliese was, perhaps, reluctant to spell this out for us, but Don's immediate problem is that he does not have enough money to bail himself out of jail.  This, of course, makes his immediate life miserable, but more importantly, makes it difficult for him to manage his defense, which could result in him spending extended time in prison.

The bottom line here is that Don needs about $5,000 to get out on bail.   As i write this, 60+ people have read Anneleise's thread today.  If we were to reach into our hearts and pockets, i think that we might be able to come up with enough money to get Don out of jail help him start down the path to put this behind him.  An average of less than $100 from each of us would get this man out of jail in time for Christmas.  If you can give $10, give $10.  If you can give $100 or more, please do so.  If you can buy any of his gear, this will help him and you'll get some kite gear at good prices. 

I probably don't know Don any better than a lot of you.  Helping him just feels like the right thing to do. Please join me in trying to help him through this tough time in his life.  If you would like to donate any amount you can, call me at 435-647-6267 or PM me.  

A message to Don. We all have demons and work hard to channel our energy towards a positive direction. Some times things are in control, other times, the demons get the better of us. I am very sorry to hear about what happened and hope a time out will help you get back to what is important in your life. Bad things happen and I am so sorry you ended up on the wrong side of the law. It is important to acknowledge that you are a special and dynamic part of this community, a creator, and spear head of innovation, a life force and great friend. We are all optimistic that you will come out strong, fired up, and ready to get back to what matters in this life. Building new tools, ripping it up, sharing good times and good friends. Prime Time!

For what it is worth, I still need a big split board and hope I can get one soon. You were on my call list this week and then I saw the note. You are messing up my plans man! Let me know what I can do to help the situation and be good, as life is too short anyway. I know that everyone is feeling your pain and hoping to see you back in action.

Thank you Don for all you have done for our sport, for the fun you bring to the scene, for being who you are!

Bob Allen

I met Don once while on a week long flying trip at the POM. Don came up and introduced himself and we chatted for a while about land SUP, kiting and paragliding. Every day that week Don would go out of his way to come over and say hi and chat. I would have to believe that Don would be the first to stand up and help out a fellow kiter if one of us were is his place. Can someone help his Fiance set up a pay pal account or post a link to one he already has. Times are tight for a lot of us right now but I would be happy to help out any way.

I'm for helping Don w/o buying his gear..unless it's stuff he doesn't need... what a bummer to get out of the house gearless.. if anything, Don needs to get some riding in..clear his head.. and get a smile on his face..then get his s**t together...been there done that..NO FUN!!!

i will throw in a C-note via pay pal

I've spoken with Anneliese on this for managing the logistics.

If you would like to mail a check, pls make check payable to me and send to:
Jason Klein
4716 Silver Meadows Drive #15
Park City, UT 84098

For Paypal payments, send to: miltsface@hotmail.com

If you would like to hand me cash/check, call me at 435-647-6267 and i will make plans to meet up with you.

Thanks to everyone who as already contacted me. Please donate anything that you can. Any amount is helpful.

I'll throw in a C note as well. We should take care of this ASAP!!! Make a running list of donators!? We take care of our own!!

Jason K- $100
Todd J- $100
Jason M- $100
Kenny F- $200
Salvador- $50
Ralph- $100

$200 via Paypal.

50 pesos for the capitan

$100 via paypal

Wow! I am in tears here and in awe of your support for Donnie. Thank you all so very much for all that you are doing! Getting him home for Christmas would be a miracle! He just bought 2 trees for our house. One just for the kids room and they miss him very much and would love to see him for Christmas!
I also know he's absolutely dying not to be able to make his boards this winter and get them out for everyone, not to mention kiting with all you of course ;o)
Again, even the attempt is so amazing and whatever happens I know for sure that Don appreciates and loves everyone of you and this show of support is a miracle in itself.
I thought it best to make all donations through Jason since most of you know him better than me.
Again thank you thank you thank you!
Merry Christmas!
Anneliese

Maybe not everybody can throw in the big money... But with more numbers at lower dollars more might be received, e.g. $10-$25 as Jason said ... I haven't ridden with Don to my misfortune, but from the times I've spoken with him, I think that he's a nice guy with a great heart. I hate to see this happen to anybody...

The point was made. It would be great to see Don be able to spend Christmas with the kids if possible, especially for the kids... The suggestion of the possibility was made via email, and not from the Losees, but It would be impossible for the UWA to step in on a thing like this, of course, but I will make a personal donation.

My prayers are with the Losee clan that this can be resolved and that Don can recover financially and come out on top after this experience. I will probably delete this post after this has been resolved. Probably the threads should go too. Leave that up to you, Don.

Losee Family Pic

I tried the 3B 179 Board with rocker yesterday that Don built for me for the first time yesterday. What a sweet ride, the board is nice and light. It eats ups all of the wind bumps and shrubbery at Skyline. Very fast and carves nice. We need to bail Don out so he can put smiles on more faces!

I'll help. Paypaled.