Rolling up coast for a cause

By MARY HURST
mary.hurst@mynassausun.com

FERNANDINA BEACH — Four recent college graduates began at sunup Thursday roller blading 40 miles a day for 54 days from Amelia Island to Boston to raise awareness of autism and funds to support autistic children and their families.

Dan Tatar , 23, of Queensberry, N.Y., organized “Rolling for Autism” because his older brother, Ben, 25, suffers from the condition. He said his parents shouldered many costs associated with his brother’s affliction over the years, but Ben is doing well as a body builder and writes for a body building magazine.

The skaters decided to start on Amelia Island because one of the four had vacationed here. Besides, he said, they liked the idea of starting in small town.

“You can do a lot of great things in a small town that gets lost in a big city,” he said. “We’ll have as many as 160 other teammates roller blading with us at different points along the route.”

Roller blading is relatively new to the group — Sean Streich , of Kimberly, British Columbia; Jason Ortolano of Carteret, N.J.; Carson Strang from Cleveland, Ohio; and Tatar; — but they had no problems picking it up since they all played college hockey at Union College in upstate New York.

More than $5,000 has been donated by Nassau businesses, and the four spent two days at the Hampton Inn on Sadler Road. General Manager Khelia Todd has arranged for free stays for the four at other Hampton Inns along the way.

Any costs that can be defrayed helps them raise more money for their cause, Tatar said.

“If you have any relatives on the way north, let us know. Maybe they’d like to have us over for dinner,” Tatar said.

Track the “Rolling for Autism” skaters on their Web site at rollingforautism.com . Donations also may be made at the site.
ABC’s Good Morning America has given the four a camera to make a video journal along the way. They will appear on the morning show Aug. 10 when they skate into New York, and will share their journal on the program.