Lakeside

Beloved skatepark mom honored with bench in Lakeside

One Lakeside mom noticed there were no skateparks for her son in Lakeside. So she, along with many others, changed that

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There were hugs all around during an emotional ceremony on Saturday to honor Terry Burke-Eiserling for her tireless work to get a skatepark built in East San Diego County's Lakeside, the first and only one in the community.

Family, friends, skateboarders and elected officials all showed up for the bench unveiling for Burke-Eiserling or as the skaters call her, Miss Terry. The green bench overlooks the skatepark with an engraving dedicated to the ultimate skatepark mom.

Miss Terry and her son James try out the new bench installed in her honor at Lindo Lake County Park in Lakeside on April 20, 2024. (NBC 7 San Diego)

The push for a skatepark began in 2009 when Miss Terry would drive her son James and his friends all around the county to different skateparks because her own community didn't have one.

Miss Terry and other members of the Lakeside Skatepark Committee dove headfirst into getting a skatepark built in Lakeside.

They even got a law changed to make it all happen. The skatepark opened in 2014 at Lindo Lake County Park on Lindo Lane.

However, Miss Terry’s involvement didn't end after the skatepark was built. She became an impactful member of the Lakeside skate scene, becoming a surrogate mom of sorts to many kids at that skatepark.

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