9/23/26
Times Indicator Page 10, by Ken DeLaat

New signs remind community of state championship legacy

State Championships are hard to come by. More than 700 schools compete in MHSAA sports. Even when broken down into the 4 divisions (8 for football) it is like matching up against some 200 teams. And believe me, getting to the final game, match, meet etc. is no picnic. It requires talent, perseverance, hard work, effective coaching, and certainly an injury free season helps. And every step that advances a team in the endof-season free for all it means winning games, matches or meets that pit you against the best the state has to offer.

Thus, when a school gets to the final or secures that coveted state title, those teams deserve to be honored.

To highlight these awe-inspiring accomplishments, Fremont has posted a pair of signs that give credit where credit is due, the teams from the school’s rich athletic past. A legacy of what can happen when everything falls into place and the trophies are hoisted at season’s end. From the Boys Basketball runners up in 1946-47 to the 2020 Boys Cross Country, the new signage celebrates the teams that made it to the finals, and capped off a season the team members will never forget.

And now the community can also be reminded.

We caught up with Packer athletic director Dave Wells to ask a couple of questions about the new additions.

How did the new signage come about?
We have been looking the past few years at championship signs like there are in other communities and have gone back and forth with what design we should go with. When I saw this design I decided that we needed to move forward and finally get some of our own.

What or who lit the charge?
Moving forward from that point, a lot of credit goes to Audra Powell. Once we decided we were doing the signs, she reached out to some community businesses, and she secured the funding for the signs with the sponsorships within a few hours. We can’t thank these sponsors (The White Agency, Semper Flow Plumbing, Gerber Federal Credit Union, and Auto Owners Insurance) enough for what they did to make these signs possible. We were able to get them and put them up, without a cost to the school.

Why is it important?
It’s important that we recognize the teams that have represented our school and community at the highest level of competition. We have been pushing the saying with our athletes, “Fremont Packers...It’s Who We Are”. These championships are part of who we are.

Have you gotten feedback on it? What are folks saying?
The feedback has been positive, people like seeing it as they come on to the high school campus.

Is there room to (hopefully) add future champions?
There is still room to add, and if we ever have the problem (which is a good problem) that it gets full, we will always be able to add future signs.

Pictured from left to right are Jason Vincent and Alex Walker of Semper Flow Plumbing, Dave Wells, Fremont Athletic Director, Heather Wiersema and Pete Slovinski of Gerber Federal Credit Union and Jason DeKuiper of White & Associates