GATORS, Kent, Wash. -- One of our own who had previously not been identified was located mildly sipping a hefeweizen without lemon.
The irony of the sighting is that it took place at the Bod Busters winter retreat also known as Gators.
The missing person, the unknown "K-factor" to the
fastest-growing control-line competition team in the Northwest is none other
than Steve Helmick! Steve, as he is known to his friends and family, also
travels under the name of "Groan Verona" and has frequently been
spotted at the Bladder Grabber and about any other combat event of magnitude.
Once an upstanding member of "Moose and Squirrel" racing team, Steve branched away from his natural abilities of flying combat, speed and racing, to become one of the close calls (.1 seconds) for the U.S team in A2 (Nordic) towline glider. It's been a long "walk-about" for Steve-O but he seems to have found his home in precision acrobatics.
I have seen the work of this master builder and it is without flaw, he is perhaps the best scratch builder I have known.
Steve's background is checkered with other pursuits such as trophy bass fishing, Combat, Rat Racing, Free-Flight, Stunt and a failed attempt at building a team racer with me.
We were kids and traded a rare (1970's) MVVS 2.5 cc speed engine to a local collector for an ETA Elite Mark 11. There's a good story in this with equal parts of beer, truth, lies and dares that will have to wait for another day.
The collector was generous and traded the engine to us but I think he also took all of our cash and a few TD .049's in the deal as well.
At 6:30 June 26th 2007, Steve was the seventh Bod Buster to be inducted into the team. His initiation will be at the Bod Busters HQ in Beaverton Ore (Stars) or possibly our Northern Division HQ in Vancouver, B.C
Steve is a great addition to the team, and as always. You mess with him, you mess with us.
We welcome Steve.
Broadway Bod Busters members are now: Ken Burdick, Buzz Wilson, Jeff Rein, Dan Rutherford, Dave Stevenson, Mike Rule and Steve Helmick.
This page was upated June 28, 2007