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Thank you so much for watching.
I'll see you in the next video.
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Welcome everyone to the 25th and final Brendon Borek Surf Memorial.
What a day.
Just a word, first of all, about my son Brendon.
He walked on this beach 25 years ago saying,
Mom, what if nobody comes?
Would he be surprised today?
I think so.
Everyone's ready for the Borek.
We are moving into the future with Brendon's fund.
We will continue to do work in the community.
We have established an endowment fund in Brendon's name
at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
And we are donating to them $200,000 in the fall to start the fund.
And Brendon's name will be remembered forever.
And as a mother, what better thing could I have done for my beautiful son?
The cameras are now in the water.
What has Brendon Borek meant to me?
It meant different things in different stages.
The first one was a birthday party.
The second year was to help the Borek family.
It was monumentally hard to see them in such pain.
You think of any parent raising a child, seeing them get that sick, that young.
It's heartbreaking.
Then the following year it was seeing other people in Cape May County area
and seeing them experience the same troubles.
So it was to help them.
As the years progressed, it was made.
It helped me.
It helped me understand a lot about compassion and giving
and having all the resources and help to make a difference.
I was close to Brendon.
He served really well and he was skateboarded really well.
And I was into all those things and I really looked up to Brendon a lot.
And it hit me pretty hard when I was a kid.
But it showed me the power of this community really rally.
Just a reminder everybody, it's 12 noon.
The final circle of friends down on the beach.
One of the highlights of the day, so make sure you're down here on 12 noon.
Memoria, always loved and always remembered.
Brendon Borough.
Kate Lynn Ansela, Hannah Clark, Allison Clayton, Dominique D'Amico, Logan D'Angeles, Katie Ilya, Christina Filippo, Arthur Jemaine Brandt, Franny Harbrick, Shane O'Hort, Victor Krabicki, Matthew Lawrence, Tyler Mahoney, Scott McCaffer, Jason McCullen,
Joanna Mathers, Rose-Marie Miller, Isabella Maury, Christopher Norver, CJ O'Neill, Gabrielle O'Neill.
The void left by losing a loved one might seem quiet and sad, but in reality it is loud and devastating.
Every thought you have surrounds what could have been and usually ends with why.
Why is the question that will never be answered as it relates to Brendon passing away?
You can only assume that there was a greater plan for him.
It usually is for the special ones we live in. Unfortunately, my mother and father didn't want to dwell on that question.
They knew Brendon's legacy needed to live on, and now the focus needed to be on helping others.
We've all been witness to the beautiful sunsets that Avalon has given us over the years.
It inspires us, it captivates us, and usually is shared by the people who are closest to you.
We chose The Sun Never Sets as our mantra for this year's event.
Sadly, it will be the last time we gather here to celebrate as a community,
but as the sunsets on this chapter of the High Tides Memorial Fund,
it will rise just as bright and continue to help those in need in the future.
For all that Brendon Borek has given us, for the grace he has bestowed on our little island,
for giving that great gift of stoke out, Brendon Borek is a Hall of Family.
Brendon Borek is our Hall of Family.
I am 19 years old right now, and at 15 I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Looking back, I really couldn't tell you how fast it all is coming on.
Many people ask me how I got through it, and all I can think about is support.
Friends, family, and even strangers, I was getting the most amazing amount of support,
and that's where the Brendon Borek Foundation came from.
I'm going into my fourth year of remission, and I couldn't think of any greater way.
I couldn't think of any greater way to give back.
This is the only thing I could do.
So I have a check with me for $2,115 to give to not just Lydia,
but everyone else who didn't even know me, and helped me support me and my family.
Thank you.
There's every cop, fireman, surfer, real estate agent.
Everybody's in this building right here, or everyone has some sort of way of helping for the community.
It's a pretty amazing thing, but I think it's really cool because it's where I'm from.
I'm psyched.
I just want to say that while the surf contest is ending, Brendon's fund isn't.
It's going on into the future, and it will last well beyond all of us,
because of the endowment fund we've created at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
So Brendon will always be, even though he had a short life, his spirit will evolve.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
