January 22, 2003

Rescued desks colorful addition to Boys and Girls

Kevin Jaeger restores school desks from NMC Maritime Academy

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

      Kevin Jaeger rescued more than 70 wooden school desks from being destroyed before a demolition crew brought down the Northwestern Michigan College Maritime Academy building last year.
      The owner of Advanced Painting and president of the Optimist Club is in the midst of restoring the desks and turning them over to area non-profit agencies. With the help of his employees, Jaeger sanded the wooden tops, scoured the steel supports and painted the desks in vibrant, kid-friendly colors using durable industrial enamel.
      The first batch of 20 desks were delivered to the Boys and Girls Club last Wednesday, their bright colors sparkling in the facility’s learning center.
      “The desks have really added quite a color scheme into our learning center and some life to the Boys and Girls Club,” said Thomas Owen, athletic director for the Boys and Girls Club. “With these desks, the kids actually sit down, the desks draw them in.”
      Jaeger and his crew tackle the desk restoration project in spurts during slowdowns in their custom painting business. He sees the restoration effort as a long-term project that will help fill in the gaps between jobs and continue his tradition of community giving. In the past, he and his ten employees have painted for the Habitat for Humanity, the House of Hope and the United Way’s Day of Caring.
      “We’ve been giving back to the community for years and with this year my being president of the Optimist Club, and we do a lot of stuff with youth, this seemed to fit,” said Jaeger, who founded Advanced Painting 12 years ago. “It doesn’t really cost my business a lot of money and the benefits to everyone far outweigh the costs.”
      Jaeger found the desks when he was looking through the building with a friend just before the demolition. He was thrilled to rescue them from the landfill and be able to put them to good use. He also rescued two dozen wooden chairs he plans to restore.
      “A buddy and I were there and we saw piles and piles of desks,” Jaeger recalled. “They were a little beat up, some a little rusty but they were sound steel and solid wood in really good shape.”
      Jaeger contacted the Boys and Girls Club, who eagerly jumped at the chance to take the first 20 desks. He noted the club might take 10 more for their Traverse City facility and up to 20 more for their Suttons Bay one. He is still looking for non-profit organizations who work with children who might want the desks, with the caveat that it might be a while before he has any up for grabs.
      “There’s still a lot of places who would like them,” he noted. “After I got rid of the initial 20, I haven’t made any more calls because we ran those when we were slow for a while and now we aren’t anymore.”