Wildcat van shoes its true colors
Published 4:00 pm Saturday, October 13, 2007
Their ride didn’t quite get pimped, but it did get spruced up thanks to the help of a group of volunteers from the Whidbey Cruzers.
They took a dented blue van and gave it a makeover — a Wildcat makeover.
Students from Oak Harbor High School’s Wildcat TV will now work out of a purple and gold-clad 1994 Aerostar minivan. They have become a fixture at football games and other athletic events. Among other things, they film the games and then broadcast them on the school district’s cable channel, channel 21, for everybody to enjoy.
The students use the minivan as a production facility when they are producing stories outside the classroom. The van gets used at the football games, including last year’s run to the state championship.
“We’re getting a huge treat here from club members,” said a grateful Chris Douthitt, who is the video production teacher at Oak Harbor High School.
The production students have been using the van for about a year and a half. It was a former surplus district van.
Recently, the students have been filming more than athletic events and venturing out into the community. They covered a Whidbey Cruzers car show and produced a 90-minute show on the event. When Douthitt decided the van needed a new paint job, he approached the car club to see if they had any suggestions on where to go.
“The next thing I knew, they were volunteering to do the job for us,” Douthitt said.
The car club took the van Oct. 4 and finished up the paint job Monday. Twenty members of the Cruzers were involved in the painting project. They were Larry Smith, Ed Hammond, Don Sullivan, Herb Terrill, Ed Barrety, Don Stultz, Rich Turner, Jim Haddon, Byron Baxley, Ray Dayeur, Don Souza, Larry Lohman, Greg Speck, Ted Mann, Pat Cavello, Bill Waite, Mike Harris, Barbara Mann, Linda Haddon, and Maria Turner.
The Cruzers did more than put a fresh coat of paint on the Wildcat Van. Volunteers removed the dents, replaced the rear bumper, and put a new license plate border on. Once that work is complete, a Wildcat TV graphic and a Whidbey Cruzers graphic, produced by Island Signs, will be placed on the side of the van. Les Schwab Tires provided new wheels for the van. Car club members estimate the van received approximately $5,000 worth of work.
“This is overhauling, Oak Harbor style,” said Ed Hammond, president of the Whidbey Cruzers.
They need to have the van complete in time for Friday’s Homecoming game against Lake Stevens. Douthitt said the students will be able to use the van for another long playoff run that will hopefully end with another state championship.
