Students learn car maintenance at Northwest Tire, thanks to Brandon Realtor’s crazy idea

Seventeen Brandon Valley students took part in the Lead, Learn, Drive, event at Northwest Tire on Monday night. Brandon Realtor Lee Schelling teamed with Northwest Tire to teach students the basics in car maintenance.

The participating students went through a series of practices on their own vehicless, such as changing tires, checking various fluids under the hood, and checking tread depth on tires. Each project was overseen by a Northwest Tire mechanic.

But of all the items on the checklist, Northwest Tire oil tech Chase Obbink said making sure the students knew where the hazard lights were was his number one priority.

“That’s the most important thing for me, teaching the kids how to find and turn on their hazard lights,” Obbink said. “Not everyone has cones in their car, that’s why the number one option is to turn those hazards on. What if you’re stuck in the dark? If you don’t have your hazards on, it can be a problem.”

When Brandon Valley junior Ethan Hauck pulled his car up to begin the event, Obbink said he rolled down the window and asked him if he knew where his hazards were.

He did, and Hauck said he also learned something else about his car.

“I didn’t even know I had a spare tire,” he said. “I did not know that I could just lift that back padding and actually lift my spare out of there. All of the tools were there, too, so I guess I learned something good.”

Schelling said he got the idea to do the event after talking with high school assistant principal Brady Olson. Before taking on that role earlier this year, Olson served as the district’s internship coordinator.

“Brady told me that at Brandon Valley, they like students to learn outside the classroom,” Schelling said. “This is just a chance to give back to the community, and I started thinking of ways we could do this.”

Schelling said he talked with Northwest Tire store manager Mike Buss in May at the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce’s cha-ching event at Up Your Glass in Corson.

“I asked him what he thought of my idea,” Schelling said. “He said it was a crazy idea, but a good idea.”

Both Schelling and Buss said being able to change a car’s tire, or check fluids, is almost a lost craft. Especially now that anyone can simply YouTube how to accomplish such tasks on very specific makes and models of cars.

But both also agreed that there’s a big gap between watching a YouTube video, and actually completing the task.

“I’m thankful there are (social media) influencers out there,” Schelling said. “You can type in your car and it’ll tell you how to do it. But until you do it, it’s a whole different thing.”

Buss agreed, and said it’s become a lost craft because of cell phones. If someone’s in trouble, a simple phone call can get someone to your aid in a hurry.

“And you can watch it on YouTube, but it’s a whole different ball game,” Buss said. “You can watch a video and kind of get the gist of what it is, but doing it is a different story.”

Schelling said he was happy with the turnout and hopes to do it again. The event was advertised from 5:30-7:30, but was broken up into two different groups. Schelling said moving forward they’ll advertise it as a one-hour commitment instead of two.

Buss also said they’d like to do it again, and perhaps add more, such as a Ladies Night event.

Each participant on Monday left with a goodie bag that included a tool kit with tools such as a tire pressure gauge. Schelling also had a coupon inserted for a free large pizza.

Participants were also treated to burgers, hot dogs, and chips as part of the event. 

Towards the end of the two hours, a slight mist surrounded the area, something that Schelling said didn’t damper a thing.

“That’s reality,” he said. “If you’re going to have a flat tire, that could happen.”