Eden High School wins the Donnie Smith Chopper Class Challenge

A cool thing is going on that some people may not know about. It is the Donnie Smith Chopper Class Challenge. I would first like to applaud Donnie Smith and all involved with this.

To sum it up this is a cool deal that any high school industrial program can take part in. In my mind, a few simple things needed are: a kick ass teacher with drive and enthusiasm that he or she can pass on to the students, students who are willing to put in the time needed to build a bike (and trust me it is more than you see on your hyped-up television programs), school members that understand how important this is for the students and donations from local bike shops including parts and knowledge to pass on to this younger generation.

It is the student’s job to build the bike. The teacher is there to teach, not build while the kids watch. I had the privilege of working with the students of Eden High School for a little while on their entry into this Chopper Class Challenge. Karl Horschel (owner of Jaybrake), myself (Keith Horschel) and Joe Detrick (all around wrench) did what we could with donations and time spent teaching the students how to make, run and bleed brake lines. I am not sure how much they learned, but we had fun.

I’m happy to say that Eden won the Chopper Class Challenge at the Donnie Smith show in St. Paul, Minnesota, and they also finished fourth in one of the open classes which any builder could enter.  Jaybrake would like to congratulate all the students and everyone who helped them achieve 1st place. 

Students involved: Tyler Arendt, Mark Balcerzak, Aaron Brind’Amour
Andrew Fageol, Mathew Fintak, Thomas Gallman, Jeremiah Gechell, Cory Lauber, Brandon Lepkowski, Cody Longbine, Philip Marble, Michael McShane, Anna Miller, Anthony Notar, Timothy Ongley, Kyle Parsons, Taylor Porter, Ryan Said, Edward Sarcione, Scott Scheffler, Bradley Schrelber, Ryan Schweinsburg, Reginald Sovereign, Tyler Stephens, Matt Vankoughnett, Eric Webber, and Michael Wright. Teacher: Steve Jones.