5-12-14 project grill

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin – The smell of summer was in the air at the 6^th Annual Project G.R.I.L.L. Unveiling, which took place in the Festival Foods parking lot on Friday, May 2.  Students from nine area high schools were grilling up brats and giving the community a taste of their creativity and manufacturing know-how.   Project G.R.I.L.L. is a program of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce that matches area high school technical education departments with area manufacturers in a challenge to work together to design, test and build a charcoal grill from scratch. Students, business people, educators, parents and friends gathered in support of teenaged ingenuity and craftsmanship.  With the “Light your grills!” command, students from nine area high schools started-up their charcoal grill creations, which showcased their manufacturing skills and imagination.  As part of the unveiling ceremony, those in attendance were able to hear from Aimee Wendt, Project G.R.I.L.L. committee chair and Manager of Human Resources at Fives Giddings & Lewis, as well as Tim McFarlane, president of Hometown Bank and 2014 AC Chair of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce Board of Directors.   Designs for this year’s grill creations included Campbellsport High School’s rotating propeller grill, which boasted precise design and engineering work, as well as a hidden cooler and stereo system; Fond du Lac High’s miniature locomotive comprised of four separate cars, including a working engine that makes the grill mobile and magnificent; Horace Mann High’s rendition of a miniature tractor pull complete with working cables and pull system; a one-half scale model of a Jeep CJ-7 built by Laconia High School; Lomira’s enormous trailer grill complete with a picnic table; Mayville High’s golf-focused grill – aptly named the Halfway Hut with plans to house it at the Mayville Golf Course; Oakfield High’s school spirit trailer grill; Waupun High’s overhauled 1971 Chevy pickup truck complete with a working grill within the engine block; and a beautifully designed grill built by Winnebago Lutheran Academy, which emulated a barn complete with a grill area and a smoker.