A Note from Kelsey

All, here's information from my and Nathan's friend, Kelsey, regarding the MA fund raiser:

Hey Everyone!
Lindsay and I have been collaborating to put together the benefit in MA. Like blogspot says it will be held on Saturday June 7th, 2008. The new news is we know where it will be.

Four Points Sheraton
Leominster, MA

The time frame is still TBD. We have some ideas up our sleeves for events planned that day. Whatever it may be, it will be a good time. For those of you traveling we chose the Four Points because they have rooms available, and are giving a discount. If you intend on booking a room it should only cost you $89 for a night. Make sure to tell them why you're there! If you have problems you can message me via Facebook or e-mail me KCMeloon@gmail.com.

This is very early notice, I know. But there is still a lot to do. Lindsay and I will be working together to gather donations, prizes, and anything else we can get our hands on. If you know of anyone, or any companies that are willing to donate to the cause, or even if you know contact information for places it would be helpful for us.

Thank you in advance for your help! We hope to see you in June!

Walk Like MADD (Formerly Strides for Change)

I've formed a team to walk in remembrance of Nathan (cleverly named In Memory of Nathan B. Marti) at the Walk Like MADD, which is a 5k walk that raises funds and saves lives.

I'd really like to have a big group of people walk for Nathan, so please sign up if you can make it!

Saturday, May 24, 2008
George Mason University ~ Fairfax, VA
9:30 am: Ceremonies begin
10:00 am: Walk begins

Click here to join my team.

Trial Update #3

The new date is Tuesday, January 29, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. at the Arlington, VA, courthouse.

As usual, I will post more details as it gets closer.

Trial Update #2

Unfortunately, the new trial date still has not been set. It's looking like it might not be until sometime in January.

Scholarship is Ready!

We're ready to accept donations for the Nathan B. Marti Scholarship Fund! See instructions on the left.

I'd like to extend a huge thanks to Maria Kilpatrick and Matt Hughes. Without them, this scholarship would still just be an idea...

...and, of course, thank you for your support!

Bumper Stickers

Here are the bumper stickers to be available once the scholarship's ready!

Silicone Bracelet

Here's what one of the silicone bracelets looks like. They'll be available once we start receiving donations.  I got them at Wristband Connection, which does great work.
Click on the pic below for a close-up.

Scholarship News

I received a letter yesterday that states that the Nathan B. Marti Scholarship Fund is now an official organization, woohoo! This means that we are much closer to being able to accept donations, to distribute silicone bracelets and tshirts, and most importantly, to honor Nathan's memory in a very tangible way. I expect to be able to accept donations by the end of October or early November.

Trial Update #1

The trial will no longer begin on October 30; our lawyer received a subpoena for an unrelated case that day, so he must request a continuance on our case. At this point, we don't know the new trial date, so I don't know if this means it's going to be one week later, one month later, or even longer.

Stay tuned...

Trial Date

The grand jury met last Monday, and the trial is moving forward as expected. On Thursday, the official trial date was set for Tuesday, October 30. On the 30th, the defendant will enter his plea. If he pleads guilty, it may take a few months for the judge to decide his sentencing. If he pleads not guilty, the trial will move forward.

The trial is public, and I encourage you to attend if you wish to do so. Please let me know if you plan to attend, as we need to notify the court of how many people to expect -- per court policy, they may need to provide more security officers with a large crowd. I will post more trial information as I receive it.

Please pray, keep your fingers crossed, rub your lucky rabbit's foot, whatever it takes, so that he pleads guilty and we can get past this.

Lindsay

Silent Auction/Raffle

It's never too early to start planning...
We're going to have a silent auction or raffle at the benefit in Massachusetts. I'd like to start a list of possible items to auction or raffle. Things like sports event or concert tickets, brand new electronics, and gift baskets would be great.

My bank, Wachovia, has a Possibilities Rewards program. With it, I earn points every time I make a purchase and I can redeem the points online by choosing things like gift cards, merchandise, airline tickets, and cash back. I've decided to take all the points I earn before the MA benefit and redeem them to get an item to donate toward the auction/raffle.

If you are willing to donate something, please let me know. Even if you don't think you will attend the event, I'd appreciate any support.

Thanks.
Lindsay

If You're Feeling Particularly Charitable...

and just can't wait to donate money somewhere, MADD is a good place to spread your generosity.

If you want something to stick on your car or fridge, donate $5 and get a magnetic MADD ribbon.

Or if you want something to read, visit http://www.madd.org/, particularly this MADD page.

Massachusetts Benefit

All, please save the date Saturday, June 7, 2008, as the tenative benefit in Massachusetts to raise money for the Radford U. scholarship in Nathan's name. People of all ages will be welcome!

We are working on all details, such as specific venue, and I'll post as more details are available.

We likely will have activities such as card games, a putting competition, some sort of basketball competition, root beer pong tournament (kid-friendly!), and other activities that Nathan enjoyed.

Obviously, we'd like to raise as much money as possible for the scholarship, and in order to do so, we're looking for donations of all kinds: food, drinks, or utensils; items to put up for silent auction or raffle; DJ and DJ equipment; and/or people's time to work booths, set up, and clean up. Please contact me if you are able to donate any of these or if you have other ideas (lindsay.marti@yahoo.com).

Preliminary Hearing

The preliminary hearing on Monday went as well as it could have. He hasn't pleaded yet; they were just establishing whether there is probable cause to prove that he committed involuntary aggravated manslaughter, which has a possible maximum sentence of 20 years (it's only 10 if it's not "aggravated"), and the judge determined in our favor.

Now the case will go before the grand jury in August (date TBD). That is a closed hearing, where the public doesn't attend, and the grand jury determines whether it will go to trial. That is basically a formality, and our attorney estimates the trial would occur in October. At that time, we will find out how the guy will plead.

To be continued...

Scholarship

I am helping set up a Radford University scholarship in Nathan's name.

Right now, the scholarship is in the very beginning stages, and we will be working on it within the next couple of months.

I've been talking to one of Nathan's friends regarding setting up an annual benefit in his name that will be held in Massachusetts. We expect that it will occur around the anniversary of his crash in June every year.

We will also send out letters to all whose home addresses we have so that we can ask for donations for the scholarship.

We will be making bumper stickers, t-shirts, and bracelets in remembrance of Nathan this year, but have yet to decide if we will sell them or give them to people based on donation amounts.

I expect that once we have all of this information, we will include it in the letter we send, which is why getting people's contact information is so very important.

Please send your email address and home address to me at lindsay.marti@yahoo.com. Please do not contact me to find out how to get bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc. We will contact you regarding this information.


Thanks.
Lindsay