Patriot Powerhouse bulking up (5/8/03)

And to think, when this started it was only supposed to be a pole barn.

During Brad Urban’s one-year stint as coach of the Jay County football team, brothers Dr. Frank and Dr. Dave Vormohr had a question. “How did Sheridan become a state football power?”

Urban’s answer was relatively simple.

He said the small school north of Indianapolis in Hamilton County — which won state titles in 1985, ’87, ’88, ’92 and ’98 — had a good weight facility. A member of the community had donated his pole barn for use as a weight room, and it eventually became a popular hangout for students and spurred the growth of a Class 2A state power.

Then Urban left, and Shane Hill took over the program during the summer of 2002. The best football season at Jay County in 15 years ensued, and community members also asked the new coach what it would take to get the 6-5 squad to the next level after one of the team’s five hotly contested losses to a state-ranked team.

His answer was basically the same as Urban’s. The school needed a weight facility to help its kids get bigger, faster and stronger.

“I was specifically asked what we needed to get over the hump,” said Hill. “Little did I know that four or five months later it would happen.”

But it has, or, at least it is in the process of happening.

The Patriot Powerhouse is on its way, to be built in the corner of the currently fenced-in football and track facility nearest Jay County High School.

Construction is set to begin whenever approval is granted by the state, probably sometime in mid-June. All new construction on school grounds must be approved by the state.

So how did this project turn from talk into reality?

“I talked to Bob May (owner of Bob and Sons Insurance) after the fall sports banquet,” said Frank Vormohr, a school board member and one of the driving forces behind the powerhouse. “We said ‘Hey, let’s build them a barn.’”

And oh what that barn has grown into.

The first meeting of a group interested in constructing a new facility was in January, which included Frank and Dave Vormohr; Jay School Corporation business manager Brad DeRome; Ron Freeman, father of JCHS sophomore football, basketball and golf athlete Ben Freeman; Tim Johnson; Dean Seagraves; Jason Minnich; JCHS facilities director Ron Krieg; Bob May; John Nill; Donald Gillespie of the First Bank of Berne in Portland; Jim Bruggeman, father of JCHS basketball player Kevin Bruggeman and JCHS soccer, basketball and track athlete Jamie Bruggeman; school board members Bryan Alexander and Mike Shannon; and former school board member and owner of WPGW radio Rob Weaver. Jay County coaches Shane Hill, Craig Teagle and Bev Arnold also were involved in the planning for the facility.

Immediately after, the members of the group first gave their own donations, then began calling community members and JCHS alumni in search of support for their project.

Several members of the group along with Hill traveled to North Montgomery High School in Crawfordsville to check out the facility that community had built. The Chargers’ fieldhouse and activity center was similar to what had been in the works in Jay County prior to the financial crunch which still exists today.

“They had built a multi-purpose facility,” said Hill. “We wanted to see that. It was a very impressive facility.”

So the group continued working, got the support, and the project grew.

When asked, people simply donated, not only money, but materials and services as well.

Local businesses have agreed to donate everything from the walls to a refrigerator, plumbing to landscaping, and lots of time and effort.

The monetary donations have added up to $70,000 in hand right now, with another $20,000 promised for the facility. The estimated cost of construction is $100,000, but the fundraising won’t stop there.

“If people see the benefit of it, they can continue to donate,” said Dave Vormohr. “What we want to do is get up a fund to continuously improve and maintain the place.”

The Vormohr brothers hope that the fund drive will be pushed over the $100,000 threshold this weekend when former Indianapolis Colts strength coach Tom Zupancic visits Jay County. He is coming to speak at JCHS Saturday as part of a dinner and silent auction to raise money for the powerhouse.

Zupancic is speaking for free, Fisher’s is donating 1,000 meals for the event, and scores of athletes have given memorabilia to be auctioned. Those items include Indy 500 tickets; signed balls from Chris Gardocki, Jerome Bettis, Antwaan Randle El, Mike Davis, Isiah Thomas and Steve Alford; and Jay County items.

“We’re just trying to do anything we can to raise some money,” said Dave Vormohr. “The amazing thing has been community people who have just been tremendous in saying ‘Yes, we’ll help.’”

And all those who have said yes will appear on a recognition board on the powerhouse wall.

“That’s what’s really neat is the community people coming together,” said Frank Vormohr. “It’s been a huge involvement from a lot of people. Our goal was to spread it out and get the whole community involved.”

And the hope is that the involvement will help build one of the finest high school lifting facilities in Indiana.[[In-content Ad]]