Jay Thomas, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbour park president, is set to become the 12th “honoree” of the annual Elks Roast Saturday at the Elks Lodge in Canyon Country.

“I’m scared to death,” Thomas said. “When I was talking to a couple of my roasters I asked them if I could help them with any of my background and one of them made the comment, ‘don’t worry, we’re just going to make it up for you.’ That got me very nervous.”

Thomas, who makes his living giving theme park guests “thrills and chills” on world class “extreme” roller coasters, will soon get a taste of his own medicine. Roasters Darrell Paulk, Don Fleming, Tim Burkhart and Ken Pulskamp promise Thomas will be “taken on the ride of his life.”

In a play on words involving Magic Mountain’s newest roller coaster Elks Roast emcee Bob Kellar said “Terminator: Salvation is his only hope.”

The annual Elks Roast honors prominent residents of the Santa Clarita Valley to benefit charity.

Among the past honorees are Kellar, Wayne Crawford, Bob Hudson, Carl Goldman, Cameron Smyth, Tom Veloz, Frank Ferry and John Reardon.

This is the 10th year that roast proceeds will benefit the Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers. The Dixon Centers, located in Val Verde, Canyon Country and Newhall, are the only community health centers in the SCV.

“Each year the roast has generated around $50,000 for us,” said Cheryl Laymon, executive director of the Dixon Centers. “The roast has provided about $500,000 to Samuel Dixon through the years and this year it is even more important. Fundraisers are crucial, in addition to foundation grants and community support. It makes a difference whether we can keep our doors open or not.”

Laymon said in a normal economy the Dixon Centers see about 8,000 patient visits a year.

“This past year we had 11,000 patient visits,” she said.

In addition to state budget cuts of more than $125,000 since last year Laymon said this year’s Elks roast is among the most important in the past decade.

“We would like people to come to support Samuel Dixon so we can be here for when they might need us, that’s the bottom line,” said Laymon. “In addition they will have a great time, have a fabulous dinner and they’re going to have the funniest guys roasting Jay.”

Laymon said she has been very impressed with Thomas and his willingness to step up and help the Dixon Centers.

“He’s really trying to help us and he’s bringing resources to the event,” said Laymon. “He’s very impressive and as nice as can be.”

Laymon said she would like to see the event become a sell out.

“Because of the way the Elks do the event, they do it all themselves, you can’t get a better value for your charitable dollar,” she said. “The food is all going to be provided by the Elks and the Elks BBQ committee is cooking at no cost. For a $100 ticket you can’t get much better value than about $95 of that $100 going to benefit Samuel Dixon. From a social investment standpoint the Elks Roast is one of the best social investments in the SCV that a person can make.”

Thomas became park president at Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor in September of 2007 after rising through the corporate ranks at Six Flags. He previously was park president at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville. He has worked at Six Flags more than 20 years at both the corporate and park levels.

“I started as a ride operator in 1988 at Six Flags Over Texas, loading people into Roaring Rapids,” he said. “After two years at Six Flags I knew I wanted to be a park president.”

Thomas graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Amber University.

He is married to wife Ashley, and they have a son, Austin, 6, who attends Emblem Elementary School. The couple also are foster parents to two other children.

“My wife and I have moved to different cities and states working for Six Flags including Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Atlanta, New Jersey, back to Dallas, then to Kentucky and now the Santa Clarita Valley,” Thomas said. “One of the great things about moving all over the country is we get the opportunity the experience the different regions of the country and different cities and environments. There is nothing, nothing out there that comes close to what we have here in the Santa Clarita Valley."

Thomas, who was born in Abilene, Texas, said he has been very impressed with what the SCV has to offer residents.

“We should consider ourselves to be very blessed and very fortunate to have an opportunity to live here,” he said. “There are so many nonprofit organizations that are doing so many good things for our community. It’s great to see people take pride of ownership in our community and that’s exciting to see.”

Since Thomas arrived in the SCV he has jumped into SCV life with both feet.

Thomas serves on 20 nonprofit boards and committees in the SCV, including the Child and Family board, the Child and Family Strategic Planning committee, Boys and Girls Club of the SCV Foundation board, the College of the Canyons Foundation board and scholarship committee, College of the Canyons PAC arts education advisory board, Carousel Ranch board, Michael Hoefflin Foundation board, Arthritis Foundation Walk committee, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital patient care committee, Single Mothers Outreach board and Young Life.

He is also the president of the College of the Canyons Chancellor’s Business Council.

“It’s fun and exciting,” said Thomas. “It keeps me in touch with the community and it gives me great perspective on my business and how to do a better job of managing and setting the vision for Magic Mountain and running our business as a whole.”

Despite his hectic schedule Thomas said he enjoys spending time with family during his off hours. “I love spending time with my family and on the lake. We have  a boat and we’ll take the boat out to Lake Castaic or take an extended vacation and take the boat with us and explore different lakes in and around the region,” he said.

Big on Thomas’ agenda since Christmas is playing “spy games” with his children.

“That was the big Christmas push this year, getting spy kits,” he said.

Thomas said he works closely at Magic Mountain with General Manager, Tim Burkhart.

Burkhart will also serve as one of the roasters at the Elks event.

“Tim and I work together and there’s not a decision in the last two years that I have not made without Tim Burkhart,” Thomas said. “The two of us have set the tone and laid out the vision of where the park is going.”

That direction is clearly family-friendly.

When Thomas first arrived at Magic Mountain he clearly spelled out a “shift” in the direction of the park — one that married well with the family-friendly atmosphere of the SCV.

“We’ve added a code of conduct to the park that lets people know what the expectations we have of our guests when they come to the park,” said Thomas. “No profanity is allowed in the park, no smoking outside of designated areas, no line cutting is permitted and there’s no inappropriate clothing allowed.”

Positive guest comments and survey results have soared under Thomas’ leadership. However, the ever humble Thomas refuses to take credit for the increased popularity of the park.

“This is a team effort that we’ve put into transforming the park and making it a family-friendly destination,” he said. “I think we’ve come a long way to achieving that goal and we will continue focusing and improving.”

Thomas said he knows he is a lucky man.

“I love my job because each day that I come to work it is a new challenge, it is different. I’m never doing the same thing,” he said. “We’re definitely having a blast. Tim and I talk often, we’ll be walking through the park and say, ‘how lucky are we that we’re in this business?’ That we are having fun and providing fun for our guests.”

Mike Fisher, Elks Roast chairman, said Thomas didn’t hesitate when asked to serve as this year’s honoree.

“We were late getting an honoree named this year,” said Fisher. “Jay has been amazing. We got caught short this year, and Jay has been stellar. He has brought so much support. He’s a great guy — so full of energy and totally positive. His commitment to Sam Dixon is great to see.”

Thomas said the Elks Roast was one of the first events he attended when he first moved to the SCV.

“The first one my wife and I attended was when they roasted Wayne Crawford,” he said. “The Elks Roast raises money for the Samuel Dixon Foundation and they raise funds for the folks in our community who are uninsured or under insured and that’s a great cause to be part of — if there’s a way that I can help them raise funds then I’m happy and willing to do it.”

The Santa Clarita Elks Lodge 2379 has 557 members and was founded in 1967, Fisher said.

“The Elks are a national fraternal order that also focuses on philanthropy,” said Fisher. “The Elks are the second largest supplier of scholarships in the United States, after the federal government.”

Fisher said helping the Dixon Centers was a natural fit for the lodge.

“They fit perfectly with our mission statement. We’re the only Elks lodge in the SCV and Samuel Dixon offers the only community health centers,” he said. “It’s a perfect fit.”

Tickets to the event are available for $100 each. Tables are available at the $3,000, $1,500 and $1,000 level. The Santa Clarita Elks Lodge No. 2379 is located at 17766 Sierra Highway in Canyon Country. Call (661) 251-1500 for information and reservations.