David Humphrey Surprises SOAR
Written by: David Garza (Web Manager)
On Saturday, August 16, 2025 I travelled to Pasco, WA to attend Tri-Cities Powerhouse Comic Con, a multi-day event celebrating comic books and various other pop culture entertainment, such as movies, television shows, video games, and anime. Those I work with would describe me as quite the nerd, so an event like this was of course right up my alley. It was my first time attending a comic con and I was looking forward to spending the weekend with my friends.
While wandering through the vendors section, I came across a booth hosted by the voice actors of the 2001 video game “Sonic Adventure 2.” This included Ryan Drummond (Sonic the Hedgehog) and David Humphrey (Shadow the Hedgehog). I recalled how SOAR participants Hayden and DJ were massive fans of the Sonic franchise, so I decided to see if I could possibly get them a souvenir.
Since the voice actors were on break, I decided to visit more vendors before returning later. Upon their return, I immediately jumped into the line and waited an hour for the chance to meet them. Ryan and David were very polite and made an effort to get to know their fans in line. They asked me about my work, so I took the opportunity to talk about the Walla Walla Valley Disability Network and our SOAR program. I told them about our mission and the services we provide. I also mentioned Hayden and DJ, and how they were huge fans of Sonic.
Ryan generously gave me a pair of Sonic stickers to give them as gifts. David also filmed a video for them with my phone. Once I left the convention, I was so excited about what had happened that I instantly contacted Tash (SOAR Director) to share the news. We decided it would be best to make the video and stickers a surprise for them. During a SOAR event we pulled Hayden and DJ aside to share the video with them while Tash filmed their reactions. I was overjoyed to see how happy it made them to receive a message from someone they admired. This whole interaction made that entire trip to comic con worth it.
Special thanks to Ryan Drummond and David Humphrey for their generosity and taking the time to bring two of their biggest fans so much joy. We hope to someday bring a comic con to Walla Walla, WA so that our SOAR participants can experience one for themselves. Feel free to share this blog and/or video with anyone who can help make this dream a reality. They can contact SOAR Director Tash Foxe at soar@wwvdn.org.
