Helping with the to-do list

Susann Fowler, center, looks on as wide receiver Aaron Wafer and defensive tackle B.J. Guerra work to clean up her backyard Saturday morning as part of the high school's Rent-A-Jock program.<br>Matthew Weaver/ Columbia Basin Herald

by Matthew Weaver<br>Herald Staff Writer
| March 15, 2005 8:00 PM

Rent-A-Jock program benefits students, community

MOSES LAKE — Next time you've got a hog trailer that needs cleaning out, you might want to consider calling a high school athlete before taking on the task yourself.

For the past six years, the Moses Lake High School has offered the Chief Nation Rent-A-Jock program.

Moses Lake High School football coach Greg Kittrell said the idea first came up during a discussion about how the program can give back to the community.

"It's difficult sometimes, because obviously we get great support from the community to have a football team, period," he said.

The program helps both the community and the student athlete.

"A lot of people cannot manage some of the things in their yard," he said. "This day and age in athletics, team camps are huge and a lot of our kids are multiple-sport kids, and to go to two camps is tough on a lot of families. So it helps in both ways."

The program has been in place for six years, Kittrell said.

"It has been very, very positive," he said of public reaction, noting that he does not accompany the athletes, arranging each job only in that people call him. If more than one student is going along, he puts two or three together and they have to call on their own and determine what is they are doing and what they need to bring.

"We have some elderly people, so (the students) have to have patience, and so I make them actually set up the job," Kittrell said. "I tell them what to ask (in making the call), and make them responsible to be there and do the job that's expected."

Renting an athlete's service requires a minimum donation of $50, which entitles the donor to five hours of labor. Any additional work is $10 an hour. If the job is not done as expected, the person does not have to pay.

Wide receiver Aaron Wafer and defensive tackle B.J. Guerra, both MLHS sophomores, were on hand to help Rosemary Fowler and daughter Susann Fowler clean out their backyard and around their pool Saturday morning.

"We're two women alone and we don't have anybody to do this heavy work," Rosemary said. "The backyard's a mess — we're thinking about selling the place (and we) want to get it neated up before."

The Fowlers have used the program twice before, Susann said.

"They do really well and they've always worked really hard, done what we asked and cleaned up really well," she said. "They've been really helpful."

Rosemary said the two women don't have any connection to the high school.

"We thought it was a real good program," she said. "It seems to help them and it sure helped us."

Wafer said he has also worked in a wheat silo for the program, and had to prepare the grain for loading into a truck.

"My parents don't have enough money to pay for football camp all the way, so I do Rent-A-Jock to cover some of it or most of it," he explained.

Guerra said his family paid for camp last year, which was kind of rough. Kittrell told him about the program.

"It allows you to get out, gives you some responsibility and allows you to help others," he said, adding that he likes the interaction with people.

"The key to the whole deal is getting those kids to be responsible in those types of fashions and to deal with somebody in a public setting," Kittrell said, noting that he's received nothing but positive feedback for every situation.

"I know there's going to be a time when it isn't (positive); there's going to be one that messes up," he said. "But kids are allowed to mess up. That's the thing that I've liked about the people that have hired these kids — they understand kids, and they understand that you're not hiring a seasoned worker, you're hiring a kid. We're all a community of teachers, and they help me teach those kids by holding them responsible."

The program is a great learning experience for students, some of whom have never had a job before, Kittrell pointed out.

The jobs have included washing out hog trailers, bucking hay, building fences — Kittrell said in circumstances where the task is more complicated, he finds a parent to accompany the students — snow shoveling, weeding fields, moving people to a new home ("That's always interesting — you put a 16-year-old kid with an heirloom, but it gets done and they do a great job.") removing roofs from houses and mostly yard work.

"The thing that always blows everybody away, it blows their mind how much work those kids can do in two hours," Kittrell said. "They will have a job that, because they think of (themselves) doing it, 'Oh, this is going to take them all day,' and it will take them a hour."

Some people make donations every year. Kittrell said the program is optional, and that he starts with the oldest kids first and working down age-wise, trying to keep with those students that need the assistance in getting to camp.

"I never have enough jobs, because we take a hundred some kids to camp," he said. "The kids are amazing when they come back, especially the ones that have done it before. They'll get an easy job. These people feed them lunch, they do amazing things with these kids. They'll give them the $50 required fee, and then they'll give them $20 …"

One person even paid their rented jock for 15 minutes of work and then fed them lunch.

"They just wanted to kind of visit with them," he said. "Because, really, the kids at that 14-15-16-17-18-year old range are interesting people. And if you've known them sometime in your life, it's kind of fun to have them come over."

To hire a jock, Kittrell can be reached at Moses Lake High School at 766-2666 ext. 2875 or by e-mail at gkittrell@mlsd.wednet.edu.