Friends Hosting Benefit For Severely Injured Boater

A week from today, many of Tennessee boater Blake Billings’ friends are going to be gathered at Scoreboard Bar & Grill in Nashville with one goal in mind—to raise money for one of their own.

Pictured here in Key West, Fla., Tennessee’s Blake Billings was injured in an unusual boating accident in May that left him with a spinal injury; now the boating community is doing its part to help a friend in need. GoFundMe donations can be made here.

In May, the 31-year-old Mount Juliet native was involved in a boating incident that resulted in a spinal injury. Billings, who is an electrical contractor, is in a wheelchair now and unable to work, which is why several of his generous friends, including Steve Billings, Mike Hobbs, Ken Nelson and Alan Wise, decided to put together a fundraiser event and a GoFundMe page to assist their friend.

“Blake has always been the guy to help anyone in need, and won’t ask for help himself,” said Wise, who many people know as the owner of the stunning Wise Ass MTI 340X catamaran, which he recently sold because his new MTI-V 42 performance center console is nearing completion. “We’re putting on this fundraiser to help with his medical and living expenses. I’ve been around this community long enough to know that it’s a generous group, especially when the charity involves a fellow boater. Blake is such an incredible person who has a long road ahead so anything we can do to facilitate that and make his life easier, we’re going to try.”

Dubbed “Blake’s Benefit Night,” doors open at 5 p.m. with a silent auction that runs until 9 p.m. Food and drinks will be available throughout the evening and the live auction begins at 8 p.m., followed by a raffle at 8:30 p.m.

Wise reached out to speedonthewater.com asking if we could help promote the fundraiser, primarily the GoFundMe page since that form of donation reaches well beyond those who can attend an event in Nashville, and we are going beyond this story by donating a SOTW gift basket loaded with a jacket, two T-shirts, two hats, two tumblers, two silicon shotglasses, a dozen coozies and a complete set of Year In Review magazines from 2015-2021.

“Any and all prayers and contributions are appreciated,” Wise said, adding that they are still accepting donations for live or silent auction items. “All proceeds from the auction, and a percentage of the sales from evening, will be donated. Blake is seriously one of the best men I know—he didn’t deserve this so we’re going to do everything possible to help him in this time of need.”

I know I’ve written about this many times, but the high-performance boating community is as generous as they come, and this is just more proof of that.

Friends Hosting Benefit For Severely Injured Boater

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