Workshops at World of Speed Let Women Practice Car Care Hands-on

A lot of women customers have told Les Schwab Tire Centers they want to learn more about how to take care of their cars, so we offered three basic car care workshops for women this spring. We teamed up with World of Speed, an educational and interactive motorsports museum in Wilsonville, Ore., to host these events. The sessions were hosted by Les Schwab managers: Joe Rector, Jerry Lee, Kevin Leasure, Dorian Moore, Howard Magden, Gary Wanderscheid and Cam Durrell.

The World of Speed features historic racecars, boats and motorcycles that tell the story of motorsports culture. Through interactive exhibits and hands-on activities, it offers visitors a behind-the-scenes view of the racing world; including drag racing, road racing, land speed racing, motorcycle racing, open wheel, NASCAR and hydroplanes.

The museum hosted an educational clinic for women to practice basic car care skills — some for the first time — and get answers to their questions. Even though the workshops were geared toward women, some participants also brought along the men in their lives.

At the session hosted by Dorian Moore and Kevin Leasure, a store vehicle served as the women’s guinea pig. Kevin and Dorian demonstrated how to change a spare tire and then had their students practice raising and lowering the car with the jack from the trunk. When it came time to remove the lug nuts with the lug wrench, Kevin and Dorian were invaluable references on how to get the easiest mechanical advantage out of the equipment.

The managers reassured the attendees of one crucial point: That if their tire went flat in an isolated area where there was no phone service, it is OK to “just drive on it.” As Kevin pointed out, “We can replace the tire or the rim, but not you!”

A total of 36 students attended the workshops. The participants came away with greater confidence and knowledge, as well as a complimentary tire pressure gauge and a penny to measure tread depth.

“We’ve had great feedback, so far, from the workshops,” said Lewis Ferguson, World of Speed’s director of education. “Not only is World of Speed proud to offer this program with Les Schwab, we’ve heard from participants that the class is very informative and they benefit from the hands-on demonstrations.”

World of Speed and Les Schwab Tire Centers plans to host a father-daughter car care course as another way to teach car care basics in a casual, comfortable environment.

Longmont Kiwanis Carves Toy Cars, Connections with Local Youth

Members of the Kiwanis Club in Longmont, Colo., teach young budding craftsmen, most typically elementary school children, how to design, cut, whittle and refine woodblocks into toy cars that are then donated to local hospitalized and underserved children in the community. The project provided the novice woodcarvers with the chance to learn the old-time craft and foster new connections in the community. Outside of woodworking, other ongoing projects throughout the year include collecting shoes and books for kids in need, Salvation Army bell ringing during the holidays and other various fundraising activities.

The Kiwanis International footprint wraps around the globe, with thousands of Kiwanis clubs striving to serve the needs of children in every community through service projects and fundraising. Its work is rooted in local community action. Each year, the organization raises more than $100 million to support various projects at the community level. By empowering local members, the Kiwanis clubs are able to sponsor roughly 150,000 service projects — amounting to about 18.5 million service hours — each year.

At Les Schwab Tire Centers, we’re proud to support the important work undertaken by the Longmont Kiwanis Club and Kiwanis International. Our core values inspire us to serve as active and contributing members of those communities where we operate, and we view Kiwanis as a valuable partner in that mission, in Longmont and beyond.

To learn more, or to get involved as a volunteer, check out the Kiwanis International website or like the Longmont Club’s page on Facebook.

Fixing a Vandalized 4-H Clubhouse

By Jennifer Meeker

Last April, as Kitsap County 4-H leaders went to open their clubhouse for the upcoming fair, they found the offices in complete disarray. The 4-H clubhouse had been broken into and vandalized beyond recognition. Even the refrigerators and microwaves had been destroyed. Because the clubhouse was used every year by 4-H participants, something had to be done quickly.

The Poulsbo Les Schwab store manager Brett Clark heard about the vandalism and got together with other store managers across Kitsap County to make things right.

“It was so unnecessary and so completely undeserving for these great kids to have to deal with,” Clark said of the situation. “It took no time to understand what needed to be done. Within minutes we had developed a solution for them.”

Les Schwab is proud to sponsor 4-H in any way possible. It was an honor to provide new refrigerators, microwaves, and cleaning in time for the local fair.