PWC Communnity Call Out; Help Support The Aaron Cress Memorial Fund

Hey everyone, Kevin here. This one is gonna be a little more personal. I got a call Sunday afternoon that Aaron Cress passed away the day before (March 28th, 2020) from a sudden and very unexpected cardiac arrest. It came straight out of the blue, as did the news. Aaron wasn’t even 40 years old, I remember thinking. Worst of all, Aaron and his wife April had just had their first child, a boy – Archer – who is about 3 months old. “Good Lord,” I caught myself repeating. “He’s not even old enough to know that his dad is gone.”

Aaron was a super quality guy. I met him back in 2008 when he was still spinning wrenches at Dana Point Jet Ski Center, servicing the rental fleet and prepping new units for sale. He also had been enlisted to help keep Mark Gerner’s race skis together as Gerner pursued the Triple Crown Offshore Championship (winning first places in the Mark Hahn Memorial 300, the Long Beach-to-Catalina, and the Dana Point-to-Oceanside & Back races). Before long, Aaron was wrenching on the entire PWC Offshore team’s machines it seemed.

PWC Offshore Racing’s Mark Gerner said, “The tragic and premature loss of Aaron Cress is being grieved not only by [the] team, it is being felt by the entire offshore and endurance racing and riding community.  It’s a result of Aaron’s friendly and generous nature that made everyone he interacted with feel special. Aaron was […] was a loyal friend, an avid supporter of our endeavor to revitalize offshore racing in the United States. Aaron had a huge impact, substantially more than people will ever know. I will be forever grateful for his friendship, collaboration and support. He was friendly, selfless, unassuming and had a giving soul. I will miss him dearly.”

That’s why it was such a perfect fit to see Aaron donning an official Kawasaki employee shirt 4 or 5 years ago. Kawasaki is always in the hunt for top talent – particularly when they don’t have to relocate it – and Aaron was it in spades. Kawasaki Senior Public Relations Coordinator, Jon Rall shared, “I enjoyed working with Aaron and [especially] going to and from events with him. I will miss him as a coworker but more [than that] just his true friendship. Rest in peace Aaron, as you did great things for so many during your short stay on earth.”

Upon hearing the news, K38’s own Shawn Alladio went about (with David Tew) launching the Aaron Cress Memorial Fund to help cover funeral costs and help support Aaron’s widow and son. Alladio wrote, “Aaron supported an entire community, he gave more than he was ever gifted. Aaron Cress spent long hours after hours, away from his family to breathe life into race programs, events and riders. He was a PWC Offshore Racing Team icon. He was my friend. He was my ‘safety angel’ and did so much for those in our water rescue community.”

If you would, please click this link to GoFundMe to donate to the Aaron Cress Memorial Fund. While the whole left in the PWC community cannot be filled, any help and support we can put towards Aaron’s family will help.