Hello SURGE fans and welcome to the 142nd edition of SaveSURGE News! Since 2002, we’re vaulting SURGE into the national spotlight.

Another Great Week for SaveSURGE.org
The media blitz rolled on this past week in grand fashion! Newspapers began running the AP article profiling SaveSURGE.org in their print editions throughout the early part of the week. Papers such as the Philadelphia Inquirer, Green Bay Press-Gazette and the Columbus (OH) Dispatch all featured the story.

Also, SaveSURGE.org Co-Webmaster Avery Lund and I were interviewed on the K-100 Morning Show on 4/28/05. K-100 is a radio station in Macomb, IL. The interview went very well and we hope to have an archive of it up on the site soon.

This was just an outstanding week for SURGE and it’s great to see our community getting so much attention. Believe me, Coke is aware of what’s going on and they know how much demand there is for SURGE. It’s now up to them to make it happen. In the meantime, we’ll keep spreading the word out to anyone and everyone!

This coming week also promises to be huge! SURGE Fans Debbie, Shirley & Zak are scheduled to be interviewed by the NBC affiliate in Phoenix, AZ on Thursday, May 5, 2005. Stay tuned to SaveSURGE.org for a report on the interview.

To see a list of all the press we have been receiving, please visit:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/about_press.shtml

Exclusive Photos of the 1997 SURGE Launch!
This week we heard from a member of one of the original SURGE launch teams who in 1997 helped introduce our favorite soda out to the people! This new friend gave us all sorts of insight into what it was like to travel around the country in a SURGE Checker Cab, handing out samples of the green stuff and having lots of fun.

It sounds as if there was a really positive feeling around the launch of SURGE. The hopes were high and it’s easy to see that these launch teams truly enjoyed what they were doing. The summer of 1997 was a special one for SURGE, and thanks to our friend, you can go back in time via exclusive photos of the launch.

Check them out at:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/launch.shtml

In the coming weeks and months, we hope to be able to bring you more insight into the glory days of SURGE!

A Great Week for Auctions
With all of the publicity our community has received, the demand for expired SURGE on eBay has increased as well. In fact, a new record has been set! The auction of an expired twelve-pack of SURGE sold for a record-setting $160.08 on April 25, 2005! This breaks the previous record of $152.50 which was set on two different occasions.
See the record-breaking auction at:
http://www.savesurge.com/surge/160/index.html

And that’s not all! Another twelve-pack sold for an impressive $142.50 on April 30, 2005.
See the auction at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7151716540

And, there is another twelve-pack currently auctioning for well over $75! That auction ends on May 3, 2005 with a good chance to go over $100.
See the auction at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7152442397

Check out all of the latest auctions on $URGE on eBay:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/special_ebay.shtml

Whole Lotta Love
The stories and photos keep pouring in! Be sure to check out the latest additions to our For the Love of SURGE section at:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/love.shtml

Congratulations to 'Save Surge - The Movie' Winners
Drew Bizzell has announced the winners of the “Save Surge – The Movie” contest. Congrats to Andrew R., Ryan J. & Stefanie R.! They will each receive a copy of the re-release of “Save Surge – The Movie” on DVD.

Get your copy at:
http://www.geocities.com/randomness_pictures/surgedvd.html

What SaveSURGE.org Means to Me
During the last two weeks our community has grown quite a bit. We’ve heard from SURGE fans all across the country, both new and old. I thought this might be a great time for me to take a step back and reflect on what SaveSURGE.org means to me.

If you ask Avery & I about what SaveSURGE.org was like during its launch back on February 1, 2002 we’ll tell you that there wasn’t a whole lot to see. The site consisted of about five or six pages. The neon-green background made it hard to read the black text. There was no bulletin board. The mailing list consisted of four people (thanks Timb & Marcus!). For the Love of SURGE had just a couple of entries (thanks Timb & Marcus!).

Now, as I look at the site today, I see this incredibly thriving community. The site now has over 500 pages - the vast majority of them were created because of you. What was once a small site with little information has now become almost an information overload! We hear from new visitors all the time who comment on how it’s easy to lose track of time on SaveSURGE.org and spend hours surfing through the seemingly endless amount of content honoring our favorite soda. Every once in awhile I find myself going back and looking through some of my favorite features from the past – many of which I forgot about over time.

My point is that this has all happened because of you. You gave this community a reason to exist, long after SURGE was taken off of the shelves. I can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to see how this community has developed over the past three years.

We all have bad days from time to time but I feel so fortunate that, when I have a bad day, I can visit the site or look through e-mails and always find the support I need. Just seeing the way that you don’t give up when things are looking bad makes Avery & I so proud.

You are the reason that SaveSURGE.org has received this national attention. As I take a step back and just marvel at what has happened, I realize that this is a truly special and unique group of people. That’s why the media has found us interesting enough to do stories about us. You just don’t see this type of passion and enthusiasm very much.

Our community is one that goes well beyond convention…and sometimes beyond all logic! Sometimes it’s difficult for outsiders to understand why we’re doing what we’re doing. Even so, many of them have commented on how they can’t help but respect us because of our true passion for SURGE.

SaveSURGE.org has built up into something Avery & I never dreamed possible. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us something we never expected. You’re the reason SaveSURGE.org is what it is.

That’s all the time we have for this week.

Sincerely,

Eric Karkovack
Co-Webmaster
www.SaveSURGE.org