Thursday’s column: Skate sharpener will return to Civic Center
erh.noaa.gov | Altered by Dan
David Shinault lives in Radford, and he works there as well, as an area manager for a welding supply company. But his passion is ice skating. Over the past six years, it’s become a little more than a hobby.
Besides skating and playing hockey, since 2010 the 51-year-old has been sharpening skates outside the Roanoke Civic Center, and giving away scavenged skates during the skating season.
On many weekend mornings, he’d pull his trailer up into the parking lot and set up near one of the coliseum doors. There, he’d sharpen blades for a nominal charge. Inside, in space donated by the Civic Center, he’d fit newbie skaters into used-but -serviceable skates that cost them nothing.
Shinault has not been there since October, however. That was when the Roanoke Civic Center management informed him he needed two $1 million insurance policies before they’d let him set up again.
They wanted $1 million in general liability coverage, plus another $1 million in commercial vehicle coverage. All that for a guy who already spends more on his hobby than it brings in, and who provides genial service and free goods.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
November 29, 2012 - 6:00 AM
Enjoyed this story Dan,,,’Went back and saw what
was maybe the original piece done on David back in 2010..
Nice job…It sounds like something I-d like to help out with.
Great story Dan, most people think that this isn’t important the edge on a skate who cares? Well the skater cares. I showed my sons how to skate in the 80′s back in the old Lancerlot. I learned at the Salem Civic Center and they taught there boys to skate. Two things I learned were 1 skates have to be sharp and to KEEP away from the Chicken wire around the rink. Thanks to Dave for helping keep traditions alive.
Thank you for the positive story on David Shinault. Our favorable experience with David has brought us to include ice skating as a regular family outing. He has generously provided skates to our family as well as their friends. He equipped us with all the tools necessary to make our experience very pleasurable. He ensured we had skates, sharpening and assisted us with tips and instructions on proper skating. We have now fallen in love with skating as a family and in the process discovered an unknown asset of what Roanoke has to offer. Teaching us not only to skate but presented us with an example of how to be a role model of charitble giving.
Not sure what happened to my comment as I had thought I actually e-mailed it. Anyway, people take skate sharpeners for granted. Growing up were skated on the duck pond down the road (South Orange, NJ) where there was gravel from the warming house to the ice. Took a lot of falls due to dull skates. Fast forward to Midland, MI where there was an old guy who would sharpen your skates for $2 and return them razor sharp (and with his constant sneer).
It was really nice reading about someone doing something positive. So much of what I read daily is so negative, that a little kindness put a big smile on my face. Read this while in NYC last week, and knowing we have that kind of kindness (at the time there was a police picture giving a homeless man a pair of boots in NYC that had gone viral) here in Roanoke was all the more reason to be looking forward to returning home.
Marc Hirsch