This article is written by Ashley White, Democrat staff writer. It was published on Tallahassee.com on January 6, 2018.
Skydiving was a celebration for Dale Tadlock on Saturday.
The president of Tadlock Roofing said he would jump out of a plane and match $10,000 if the community could raise that much for Boys Town North Florida on Giving Tuesday. The community raised $10,570 and Tadlock suited up at Skydive Tallahassee to take the jump.
"It's a celebration," Tadlock, who had skydiving on his bucket list, said. "We've got a very generous, a very supportive and a very loving community."
The fundraising campaign for the company, which was founded in Tallahassee, was "Falling for Families." Marketing director Meagan Nixon suggested Tadlock could fall from an airplane to show his support for the nonprofit that helps at-risk youth through residential programs and integrated continuum care.
For Tadlock, Giving to Boys Town was personal. The 61-year-old and his wife have three biological children and four adopted children. When one of his Ukranian adopted sons was 14 or 15, Tadlock and his wife were having difficulties and needed help.
"At that time we didn't know what to do or where to turn," Tadlock said. "Boys Town was there for us. They gave us hope. They gave us help and they gave us support that we couldn't find anywhere else."
Now, his son is 21 and visits Boys Town when he comes back to Tallahassee. He's stationed with the Army in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He deploys to Afghanistan in February.
The more than $20,000 raised on Giving Tuesday and Tadlock's celebration leap were an opportunity for Dena Strickland to show the children at Boys Town that people care about them.
"These are children who people have given up on in life, but not at Boys Town," the development director at Boys Town said. "It's an incredible, incredible deal that (the community) went out and did this for us and we're so thankful."
About 40 boys and girls came out to watch Tadlock skydive.