Montana Skatepark Association donates $100,000 to Ennis park fundraiser

Authors and skateboarders Andy Kemmis and Chris Bacon recently donated $100,000 on behalf of the Montana Skatepark Association (MSA) toward a fundraiser for a new skate park in Ennis.

The pair announced the donation during a reading and signing of their new book, “Grit to Grind,” held in the Procrastinator Theater on Feb. 5.

The Ennis Lions Club skate park fundraiser was started roughly a year ago by community members, according to the MSU News Service.

As of Feb. 17, the fundraiser has raised $145,000 of its $327,000 goal. In addition, the local Ennis Lions Club donated a 6,000-square-foot space to the cause, according to the fundraiser’s website.

“About a year ago, the MSA received an email from Ennis High School student Caius Lavelle expressing the absence of places to skate in their community,” Bacon said. “I loved his enthusiasm and motivation towards the progress of this idea, so we worked to stay in the loop together to help see this project through.”

During a Fourth of July parade in Ennis this past summer, Lavelle and other students contributed to the fundraiser by selling hats and shirts on the side of the road. There, they met MSU professor Jeffrey Conger, who listened to their pitch for the new park.

“At that time, I was teaching a summer class at MSU called guerrilla advertising,” Conger said. The class needed community partners for a project, so he contacted Lavelle and the other students to promote their fundraiser.

According to Bacon, the MSA had originally pledged to donate $50,000 to the Ennis park fundraiser at the book signing.

“The announcement of increasing the donation to $100,000 at the book reading was a complete surprise." Conger said. “Everyone was shocked, all the skaters’ faces went blank with disbelief and the parents started to tear up.”

According to Bacon, he and Kemmis are proud of the work the skaters have put in. “They’ve continued to put in a lot of energy, and we are stoked to see more skate parks getting built by communities.”

Bacon, Kemmis and their friend Ross Peterson founded the MSA in 2000 to highlight the lack of legal skating spots in Missoula.

Since its creation, the MSA has gained support across Montana and assisted in funding and building nearly 50 skate parks across the state.

“Grit to Grind” profiles the history of the MSA and the evolving skateboarding scene across Montana, according to the MSA’s website.

Over the years, the Montana skating scene has changed dramatically, according to Bacon. “It’s definitely a lot more open-armed, friendly and catering to more individuals from all across the ages,” he said.

“There’s such a big shift from when we were 15-year-old kids getting horrible words thrown at us outside big truck windows, stuff thrown at us, being chased off spots by the police,” Kemmis said. “Now, skateboarding culture is celebrated, and people think it’s an amazing thing. It’s interesting to watch the culture do a 180.”

Because of the MSA’s success, building skate parks in Montana is more feasible, according to Kemmis. “Fast forward 20 years, and it seems like there’s a lot more momentum,” he said. “We get a lot more emails from small towns saying, ‘We want one too.’”

“It’s cool to be invited by these small communities where there’s enthusiasm and young skaters want to get something done,” Kemmis said.

According to Bacon, skating is more than just a good way to get exercise, it’s also an opportunity to make connections.

“Getting people outside is always a great thing, but really we found that [skating] helps bring community members together,” he said. “Not just skateboarders, but parents and grandparents and business owners and church members. It’s another great opportunity for different members of the community to go and experience something.”

According to Kemmis, skating emphasizes creativity, expression, independence and the uplifting of individual differences.

“Somebody else has a kickflip that looks kind of weird — it’s celebrated for being weird,” he said. “It builds upon this feeling of, ‘To each their own.’ Everyone’s different, everyone’s worthwhile.”

This semester, local high school and college students have designed skate decks to be auctioned off at the 2026 Deck Show at Bozeman High School. The online auction can be viewed in person Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m until Feb. 26.

All proceeds from the show will go toward fundraising for new skate parks in Bozeman and Ennis, according to its website.

To learn more about the MSA, visit its website https://www.montanaskatepark.org/.

To learn more about the ongoing 2026 Deck Show, visit https://givebutter.com/c/iDbwbK.