Palmdale shoe store opens with star power, donation to local school

PALMDALE – Quinton Aaron, who starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the Academy-Award nominated movie, The Blind Side, came to town Saturday to celebrate the grand opening for the Palmdale location of WSS Shoes.

“I just wanted to come out today and visit your town and support WSS who’s hooked me up with some shoes in the past,” Aaron told the 200-plus crowd. “That’s not an easy task, I wear a size 22.”

Aaron joined Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, members of the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce and the Palmdale Community Queens in cutting the ribbon to signify the official opening of the Southern California retailer’s Palmdale location, at 1703 East Palmdale Boulevard.

“They’re going to be a great player in our city, and we need to support them and be a part of a very positive thrust here in the center of Palmdale,” said Mayor Ledford.

WSS Shoes also joined Aaron in presenting a $5,000 school supply check to Cactus Intermediate School.

“We know how the economy has gone down so we just want to be a helping hand from WSS to the community and to its schools,” said William Guzman, Director of Special events for WSS Shoes. “I bumped into the principal here at our location and that’s how we got started.”

The actual donations – crayon boxes, pencil sets, kids’ scissors, hand sanitizers, tissue paper, and athletic sack bags – will arrive at Cactus Intermediate School on Monday.

“We really needed this,” Principal Ruth James said. “A lot of our kids will now have backpacks and school supplies, so we thank you very much for that.”

Saturday’s grand opening also included music, free games, face painting, live broadcasts with local radio personalities, and several giveaways.

Aaron signed autographs and took pictures with several fans.

Aaron, 27, got his first lead role as Michael Oher in the 2009 film, The Blind Side, a movie about a homeless, African-American teenager taken in by a well-to-do white family. The movie also stars Sandra Bullock, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Blind Side also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.