The future he envisioned did come true. The family business-Bob's oldest son Mike works with him-prospered. But Bob never envisioned the death of his middle son Danny at age 36 from a drug overdose. "There's nothing more painful than losing a child," says Bob, who built the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Treatment Center in 2001, a nonprofit substance abuse prevention facility for adolescents, "to prevent other parents from having to experience that pain."

Bob Bryant applied the same tenacity to building his son's memorial treatment center that he did to building his own business. In both cases, his determination and dedication paid off.

As a pre-med student at Santa Barbara City College and USC, he never dreamed he'd end up owning a high-end jewelry store. But his plans to be an orthopedist fell to the wayside. He continued his studies at Santa Barbara City College and attended night school at USC in order to stay in the Santa Barbara area, which he loved. He got a part-time job at Crown Jewelers; "It wasn't hard to switch from medical science to hard rock mineralogy, which is a geological science."

Today, Bryant and Sons is known for important jewelry. It's the only store in the county that offers lines including Lalique, Cartier, Patek Philippe and Van Cleef and Arpel, which are carried only by shops who can prove their ability to sell the product and who have top credit ratings. Bryant and Sons also sets the right mood; shoppers are offered a glass of champagne while Marguerite, the in-house pianist, plays showtunes on a Yamaha piano in the background.

The treatment center, unlike the jewelry store, can't recoup its expense costs, and must rely on donations. The cost of running the treatment center, which has a staff of 20 and caters to youths 11 to 18 years old, as well as their families, is about $700,000 a year.

The innovative treatment program, which includes acupuncture, counseling, meditation, counseling and prayer, has a phenomenal success rate, and there are plans to open additional centers in Santa Maria and Ventura. One of the first graduates of the treatment center came from Santa Ynez Valley, and a handful of Valley youths are currently in the program. "Eventually," says Bob, "we're going to become a national program."

Because 90% of the adolescents, who come in on their own, with parents, or from the criminal justice system, can't afford the $6-$8,000 treatment fee, fundraising is an enormous challenge.

Bob and his wife Patty (right) kicked off the first fundraiser when they climbed Mount Kilamanjaro in 1999. Friends pledged dollar amounts per foot, or per elevation gain, and they raised $500,000. The following year, joined by friends, they made a first ascent on a peak in the Canadian Arctic, and another climb is planned for Machu Pichu in Peru in 2004.

Not all the climbs are exotic; each year, local fundraising hikes are open to the public, in an effort to meet the $300,000 goal. Entry fees run $100, and pledges are nominal; "the idea is to get people to sponsor you per mile," says Bob.

This year's Summit for Danny takes place on Saturday, October 25th, at the Sunken Gardens. Hikers will be bussed to one of three trailheads according to skill level; a three-mile hike up Inspiration Peak for beginners; eight miles along Jesusita Trail for intermediates, and 14 miles through Rattlesnake Canyon toward the top of Tunnel Trail and La Cumbre Peak for advanced hikers. All three hikes are designed to finish simultaneously so hikers can be bussed back together to the Sunken Gardens for a box lunch catered by the Biltmore, and live entertainment.

Each month, 90 to 135 young people are enrolled in the treatment center, and costs mount quickly. But Bob Bryant is confident that the program will meet its financial goal and not only thrive, but expand.

"We've had people come in from Detroit, from Texas, from cities all over the country that have horrendous problems with their youth, to see how our center works. It's important to stop it now, because 85% of the people in jail in the country are there as a direct result of alcohol and drug abuse. If we can eliminate drug issues, we can save an enormous cost to society. We can either pay now or pay later."

YOU can take part in this year's Summit for Danny-held locally in the Santa Barbara front country on Oct. 25, 2003. A core group of community leaders and supporters of this annual fundraiser, right, for the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Treatment Center, will be along to help keep you on track. Hikes for all skill levels. Call: 805-963-1433 or go to www.summitfordanny.org for additional information.