Dax Catalano is ready to talk. Over a year ago, the then 16-year-old was brutally beaten, left unconscious with a fractured skull, on a sidewalk outside of the Lewiston Mall.

His assailant was sentenced last April to three years in jail, but his parents insist that justice should have been served sooner, starting with a trail of online threats that Dax received before the attack that landed him on the operating table, minutes away from death or severe brain damage.

Nearly 15 months later, Dax has booked his first speaking engagement this Friday at Bath Middle School, joining with the anti-bullying program “Bouncing Out Bullying,” which held its first event at the school last year.

“He wants to spread the word,” said Ron Catalano, Dax’s father. “He had to find it in his heart when he was ready and that’s what my wife and I were waiting for.”

On Tuesday, Dax was making final preparations for his high school graduation scheduled for tomorrow, but his father said the event in Bath Friday “is just the beginning” for Dax.

For Dax and his family, recovery is ongoing, but speaking out, his father said, is part of the healing process.

“He’s able to take this on with a different attitude and a different way of thinking,” Ron Catalano said. Working to fight bullying and cyber-bullying, however, is not new to the family since the incident.

Dax’s mother Maureen lobbied for the state Legislature to pass and for the governor to sign LD 1237, which gives schools across the state a uniform definition of bullying and gives parents what Ron Catalano said is something to rely on when reporting instances of online bullying.

“When we tried to go for help, they said that a crime hadn’t been committed yet,” Ron said. “With freedom of speech they were telling us their hands were tied and the situation unfolded where my son nearly lost his life.”

That bill was signed into law in May.

While changing the law is one part of the equation, events like Friday’s are another.

“You need to reach out to each other and pick each other up,” said Jason Gibbons, who organized Friday’s event. “Every single one of us has a God-given gift — there’s somebody that you can reach in a way that nobody else can reach them.”

To that end, Gibbons — a Bath native who uses his talents as an emcee for the Portland Red Claws basketball team to speak about issues like bullying to children across the country — has brought together a group of speakers and entertainers with diverse backgrounds for Friday’s event, sponsored by the group Teens of America. Gibbons is also the Maine director of that organization.

That list of guests for Friday’s event includes Grand Master Ed Hall, who operates a martial arts center in downtown Bath, Steve Webster, the president of the Maine Association of Police, and Rep. Terry Morrison of South Portland, who sponsored the anti-bullying law passed in May.

Others like Stephen Marois of Ridin’ Steel and three officers from the Bath Police Department are also expected to be on hand for recognition of their local efforts to fight bullying.

In mixing education with entertainment — the event features a 7-and-under dunk contest, basketball contests for adults and an appearance by the Red Claws lobster mascot, Crusher — Gibbons said the goal is to deliver a message in an engaging way.

As a young father, and after hearing Dax’s story, Gibbons said that message of how to deal with bullying is of growing importance to him.

“It scares me to death that these are the types of issues that my daughter is going to be up against,” said Gibbons, who has a daughter entering kindergarten this year.

Gibbons said he’s been to around 120 schools throughout the country in the past year — most outside of Maine — to run similar programs that reach out to students about issues that school administrators find most pressing.

Across the board, Gibbons said that bullying, and cyberbullying in particular, tops that list of concerns.

“Bullying is taking on a new face,” Gibbons said. “It’s not always going to be the fat lip and the torn shirt and the missing milk money.”

As new partnerships have formed in the second year of the Bath event, Gibbons said he’s looking to expand the reach of his own organization — on the Web at whiteshadow55.com — to other parts of the state.

For anyone interested in collaborating on anti-bullying campaigns, Gibbons said he can be reached at [email protected].

About Friday’s event, Gibbons said he’s excited to be teaming up with the Catalano family to share a unique perspective on the impacts of bullying online or otherwise.

“I’m excited to be able to work with Dax’s family on this particular issue,” Gibbons said. “It will be an extremely powerful moment when Dax gets up and speaks for the first time about what happened to him.”

Ron Catalano said he is looking forward to that opportunity to speak to his experience as a parent as well.

“I’ve learned a lot through this situation — it’s life changing,” Ron Catalano said. “A piece of me had died but another piece of me has woken up.”

Friday’s event will begin at 6 p.m. at Bath Middle School.

¦ “BOUNCING OUT BULLYING” will start at 6 p.m. Friday at Bath Middle School. The program is free and open to anyone, regardless of school district.