San Jose Sharks fans lined up from Central Avenue down to Main Avenue along Monterey Road and all for a good cause.
Seven players were on hand to sign autographs and help raise money for the ongoing search efforts to find Sierra LaMar.
“Sharks fans are passionate fans and good people, so we’re excited that we’re bringing awareness and raising some money,” said Sharks Center Logan Couture.
He said he had been following the story since LaMar went missing in 2012, but this summer he reached out to the Sharks front office to put together an autograph signing to raise money.
That led Couture to reach out to the LaMar family.
“It was a tough phone call,” Couture said. “You can hear in their voices how much it hurts them. That was a tough phone call to make.”
Sierra’s mother Marlene LaMar said she was touched to have the Sharks reach out to her to help support efforts to find her daughter.
“It was very genuine and heartfelt because two years into the search, it was good to know that players such as him still want to make a difference,” Marlene said.
The Sharks began reaching out to the search center in July, organizers said.
For a $20 donation, fans could receive an autograph from Couture, Matt Nieto, Andrew Desjardins, James Sheppard, Tomas Hertl and Alex Stalock.
“All I had to do was send a text message and within five minutes they said they would love to do it,” Couture said.
The evening raised an estimated $13,000, said Search Coordinator Roger Nelson.
“I was very impressed with the high depth of (Couture’s) character,” Nelson said.
Sharks mascot Sharkie mingled with the crowd inside and out, taking photos with the hundreds who lined up for a chance to meet the players.
“They’re part of the community, so it’s nice that they came down to support the community,” said Morgan Hill resident Dan Callison, who brought his family down to meet the Sharks.
Fans began lining up two hours before the doors opened.
“It shows the community still cares. (People) in Morgan Hill and everyone who has driven the distance to come help our cause, that shows that they’re not giving up on our family,” Marlene said.
Before the public entered the Britton Auditorium, the family of Sierra LaMar presented plaques to Couture, Principal Glen Webb and Superintendent Steve Betando for their support of the search efforts.
“We were pleasantly surprised when Logan contacted us to help,” said Sierra’s father Steve LaMar when presenting the plaques.
Make it Mine donated the plaques to the family.
Initially, organizers wanted to hold the event at the old Central High School location on Monterey Road north of Britton Middle School.
Nelson said when they approached the school district about using Central, Steve Betando and Webb insisted on using the Britton auditorium.
“They said we can take better care of you here,” Nelson said. “They are very generous. It goes to not just the spirit of the school district organization but also of the community.”
Webb said this was absolutely something he doesn’t hesitate to support.
“Honestly we’re honored to do anything we can to help them,” Webb said. “This is the perfect venue for it because it’s right downtown where it gets the recognition, people can find it easy, we can get them in and out of here and this type of event—as tragic as it was—is unifying.”
The event was originally scheduled to go from 7 to 8:30 p.m., but Nelson said the Sharks insisted the night start earlier because of how many people had lined up. The night also went longer, with the last people to trickle through at about a quarter after nine.
“I came here to support a good cause and see the players. It was exciting,” said Randy Alarcon of Morgan Hill. “… I was surprised that (Couture) took the time to support the search efforts.”
Nelson said the Sharks organization went out to the line and offered people signed autograph cards because they weren’t sure if everyone was going to be accommodated inside.
He added by the end of the night, there wasn’t anyone turned away outside.
“For a while, you didn’t hear much about (the search for Sierra), but it rejuvenates things for us that they’re still looking,” said Janice Homen of Morgan Hill.
