May 24, 2002
Contact: Greg Kummer (509-963-1423/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail: campusbullet@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University’s cheer squad jumped at the opportunity for a free trip to China. The 12-member squad - six women and six men – is ecstatic, according to cheer coach Kathey Hatfield.
And for good reason. The CWU contingent will stay in luxury hotels, receive guided sightseeing tours and educational opportunities, and enjoy a $300 spending stipend each. All expenses, including airfare, food, lodging — even the cost of passports - will be covered.
The surprise invitation came from the Washington State Fruit Commission, based in Yakima. Bill Woods, Central’s Koult Distinguished Executive-in-Residence Professor, told Hatfield about the possibility. She then contacted Eric Melton, the Fruit Commission’s vice president for international marketing, and the trip was on.
The cheer squad’s primary role in Hong Kong and Taipei will be promoting a new crop of Washington cherries. They will perform three daily 20-minute routines for six days during their July 1-13 visit.
“We will perform Central cheers and convert some into cheers about cherries,” Hatfield said. “They also want us to learn a cheer in Chinese.”
All 12 CWU veteran cheerleaders eagerly accepted the invitation. Some of the cultural differences are intriguing.
“They hope to see The Great Wall of China, and (squad member) Stephanie Iller-Drachman said she wanted to try eating snake,” Hatfield noted.
Hatfield said at first she was a bit skeptical of the trip actually happening. That has changed.
“It’s just starting to sink in that it’s for real,” she said. Hatfield, at her own expense, even decided to take along her 9-year-old daughter Ashley, a third grader at Ellensburg’s Mt. Stuart School.
Hatfield, a business education teacher at Selah High School, has coached the CWU cheer squad for 11 years and was a member of the team from 1986 to 1988.
“This is a really good opportunity,” Hatfield said. “It should be a great experience for everyone involved.”
CWU cheer squad members are:
- Lyssa Clynch, sophomore, Covington;
- Jennifer Flones, freshman, Marysville;
- Adam Frankovic, sophomore, Spokane;
- Jordan Gonzalez, sophomore, Mesa;
- Stephanie Iller-Drachman, freshman, West Richland;
- Colin Nash, freshman, Camano Island;
- Jessica Repesh, freshman, Everett;
- Nate Slattery, freshman, Everett;
- Tyler Tushkov, sophomore, Renton;
- Jessica Wolfe, sophomore, Goldendale;
- Jillian Wood, freshman, Everett;
- and Mike Yates, senior, Moxee.
