Top skaters put on show for Make-A-Wish Foundation i
Two-time U.S. figure skating champion Evan Lysacek will glide back to town this weekend to remember an old friend.
Lysacek and several skating friends will perform an "Evening of Hope" ice show at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva to benefit the Stephanie Joseph Memorial Fund in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois.
Joseph, 21 and a graduate of Neuqua Valley High School, died earlier this year from complications associated with soft tissue sarcoma. She was an avid skater and friends with Lysacek, who also graduated from the Naperville high school.
Just months before her death on Feb. 19, Joseph was working on her senior level rating, mastering such difficult jumps as the triple Salchow, the triple flip, the triple toe loop and the triple Lutz.
When Joseph was initially diagnosed, at the age of 9, she was granted a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
A skater since the age of 5, her wish came true when she skated with four-time world champion Kurt Browning.
Lysacek, who won his second consecutive national championship title in March, finished fourth in the 2006 Olympics and has two bronze medals in the world championships.
He will skate Saturday with a cast of eight to 10 world and national figure skating medalists, including ice dancing pair Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, who won a silver in the 2006 Olympics; Kimmie Meissner, who finished seventh at the 2008 worlds; Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, who earned a silver in pairs skating at the national championships in March; and Rudy Galindo, the 1996 national champion known for his showmanship.
Neuqua Valley High School nurse Penny Hyngstrom, who helped coordinate the event, said all proceeds from the $50 tickets will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Joseph's name.
"The anticipation is that Evan and his friends will raise enough money Saturday to provide grants to the foundation that would grant wishes for at least five children," Hyngstrom said.
"The entire Neuqua community has really come together for this and it's going to be a great night."
For information, visit stephaniejoseph.com.