Sequim’s four-legged elk icons could come to your home for the right price.
Members of the Gardiner Garden Club are partnering with Sequim High School welding students to create metal replicas of the elk welcome signs for the club’s annual college scholarship fundraiser on April 18.
You can see their work in local stores in Sequim, including Sunshine Cafe and Adagio Bean & Leaf ,leading up to the auction.
Lisa Cronin, organizer of event, said she approached the classes because she wanted to connect the students with the community.
“I also want the kids to know there are more options out there other than working at (fast food),” she said. “We want them to go to school, trade school, lineman school.”
Welding instructor Bill Seabolt said his introductory and advanced welding students began working in the fall on four 36-inch and 12 24-inch metal elk.
Student Brett Shirley drew a stencil on a projector and they used a plasma cutter to take out the elk designs from metal sheets and a metal inert gas (MIG) weld to place them on metal bases. Each one is serial-numbered for authenticity.
“We’re always looking for projects like this,” he said.
Past projects for the welding class for community members include a nuts and bolts rack and light posts.
The elk will be part of a silent auction with some of them either painted or powder coated.
The Garden Club’s scholarship fundraiser raises $5,000-$6,000 each year, Cronin said. Her goal is $6,000-$10,000 this year.
She and her mom Lynda Day George also are starting a scholarship in her father Douglas Cronin’s name of $2,500 for one or more students pursuing a trade. Other items will be auctioned and raffled off, including dinner with Day George, an actress.
Twenty-five members of the club will cook the meal for the fundraiser, which has a USO theme, and runs from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Gardiner Community Center, 980 Old Gardiner Road.
Eighty tickets are available.
For tickets, call 360-797-3900 or e-mail lcroningardenclub@gmail.com. Read about the club at facebook.com/Gardinergardenclub.
