The Woz partners with Hard Rock to raise money for local schools

Like many visitors to South Lake Tahoe, Steve and Janet Wozniak love visiting our mountain paradise and come to town as often as possible. It was on one of their frequent trips to the Hard Rock Cafe inside Harvey's Lake Tahoe that they met Kimberly Templeton, Lake Tahoe Sales Manager for the chain and a friendship formed.

Wozniak, co-found of Apple Computer, and his wife Janet were in town Wednesday night to help raise funds for Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD).

Knowing the couple are philanthropists, Templeton proposed an idea for a South Lake Tahoe fundraiser during one of the Wozniak's Lake Tahoe trips. This evening's event took a year to plan, from deciding who was going to benefit to the design of a special collector's pin.

Wozniak commissioned artist Snaggy for two "Woz Rocks" pins, one features him playing a computer shaped guitar while riding a Segway and the other features the same image of Steve wearing “Berkeley blue and gold” to honor his alma mater. Both are being sold at Hard Rock Cafe until gone. There were just 700 of the Segway ones made and 300 of the blue and gold ones.

At the Hard Rock on Wednesday, Woz also had his books and photos for sale, all of which he would autograph with all funds raised going to LTUSD. Many autograph seekers came armed with their old phones, iPads and ancient Apple computers for the Woz to sign.

This was the first fundraising event of this nature that Wozniak has participated in and it looked like his fans were enjoying the evening almost as much as he was. Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School third grader Emerson Ramirez came with his parents and got to spend time chatting with Woz, as did other kids as well as adults.