by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Today is the last day of school for the kids at Barrow High in Alaska. While kids here may be pondering The Players Championship or a day on the beach this weekend, Barrow principal Michael Weatherby said his kids will likely go whaling this afternoon. After all, it is 15 degrees and snowing on what’s called the North Slope.
Later this summer, Weatherby said the whole town will be on hand for the school’s first football game on its new field — thanks to a group that’s centered around Bartram High in St. Johns County.
“I think it’s outstanding. It makes me have a smile on my face to know there are folks out there who care enough about the kids on the North Slope,” said Weatherby. “Everybody in town will be there. We are actively recruiting local establishments for funding and other help. The local borough will play an integral role in getting the turf from the barge to the area where the field is.”
Sunday, the group — started by Cathy Parker, an account executive with First Atlantic Bank and the wife of Bartram High offensive coordinator Carl Parker — hosted a charity golf tournament at Cimmarone Golf & Country Club. Parker said the fundraising started in February and includes the entire Northeast Florida area. However, the story goes back to last fall when she saw a story on ESPN about the Barrow High Whalers and their gravel field. Parker began organizing what has become Project Alaska Turf and discovered it would take about $500,000 to provide the 250-student school with a new football field.
Today, the group still needs about $135,000 and Parker and many others have come up with creative ways to raise the money including sending flyers to every high school in Florida and on the West Coast of the United States.
“If anyone knows the power of athletics and how it change lives, it’s high school football coaches and players,” she said.
However, raising the money for the field is half — or less — of the battle. Creating the field and transporting the field are the two biggest issues.
“From start to finish, it’s a logistical nightmare,” said Steve Coleman of ProGrass, a Pittsburgh-based artificial turf company that also manufactured the field at The Bolles School. “We have no problem working, but the weather will be a factor.”
Coleman said the Barrow field is similar to the ones his company makes for others schools all over the country. However, this one has been modified and tested to make sure it can withstand temperatures that can reach 50 degrees below zero.
“A field is no good if it tears apart after a year,” he said. “This field will last 8-10 years no problem.”
Then there’s getting the field to Barrow. Ike Sherlock is the director of fleet operations for Grimes Trucking Company. He made phone calls to logistics companies all over the Northwest and through a system that will use trucks, trains and barges, Sherlock will move the field to Barrow.
“The challenge is not to move the football field,” he said. “The challenge is there are no roads into Barrow. It’s frozen all the time. It’s a very unique challenge and I’ll probably go up there to see the kids play the first football game.”
Parker said the easiest way to donate is online at projectalaskaturf.com