Dads bare all to raise money for Vashon schools

Published 11:42 am Friday, September 4, 2009

VASHON — An unusual fundraising effort is keeping education front and center in the minds of Vashon Island residents.

Twelve husbands and fathers revealed more than their support for the ailing local school system in the 2010 Vashon Island DreamBoats Wall Calendar.

Each strikes a whole-lotta-skin-showing beefcake pose with nothing between the camera and his privates but a well-placed prop. Not quite starkers, but close.

The men, who dreamed up the idea during a ferry commute to their Seattle jobs last May, hope to raise $20,000 for the Vashon Island School District, which recently cut positions, hiked fees and altered bus routes to plug a budget gap of about $1 million.

The calendars were unveiled on professionally bound matte stock (not buff colored) during a party Thursday evening at Cafe Luna on the island. It’s a sexy educational campaign that’s got two school board members somewhat at odds on the subject of propriety in this rural bedroom community.

“In my view, this is completely harmless, and I think the message it sends is that we have some people with perhaps some offbeat ideas who want to help our kids, and I support that,” said Bob Hennessey, school board chair for the 1,500-student district.

Vice chair Laura Wishik disagrees.

“My view is that the people doing it have the best intentions, and their hearts are in the right place, but I don’t think this is the right mechanism to raise money for schools,” she said.

As increasing numbers of teens upload nude photos of themselves to social networking sites and indulge in cell phone picture sexting, she worries the calendar “sends a confusing message” of the do-what-I-say-not-what-I-do variety.

Besides, she argues, there are better ways to raise money. A word-of-mouth and letter-writing campaign she led brought in some $60,000 to pay for a sorely needed librarian and counseling time, Wishik said.

While parallels might be drawn to similar fundraising efforts, this collection is uniquely Vashon, said Mr. February Peter Butz, father of VHS grad Taylor and Class of 2010 member Michael.

And it was altogether fun, participants say.

Each model posed with props meaningful to him. Butz, vice president of fleet operations for a company that runs expedition ships, does a bit of kayaking in his spare time. He strikes a near-Gladiator pose on the shores of Puget Sound, kayak in his right hand, paddle in his left.

Scott Benner, an attorney often seen on the ferry in a power suit, Wall Street Journal in hand, ushers in April while reading a newspaper au natural in an easy chair amidst tall grass.

Mr. May, banker and father of two Tony Liebo, strums his strategically placed banjo as he leans against a leafy tree.

Also unfolding on the DreamBoats pages: Mr. January, Richard Staehli; Mr. March, Eric Wyatt: Mr. June, Adam Wolf; Mr. July, Toby Holmes; Mr. August, Skip Tavakkolian; Mr. September, Scott Harris; Mr. October, Richard Moore; Mr. November, Eddie Frohning; and Mr. December, Andy Johnson.

And in case you’re wondering, no, photographer Rebecca Douglas didn’t get to see any more than you do.

Once the lighting was right, scene set, props ready, she turned her back on the action. “They dropped their shorts and told me when they were ready,” she recalled. She turned around, shot the pictures and then twirled again for modesty’s sake.

The plan is to sell 1,000 calendars at $20 a clip, but they’ll likely need a reprint before you can say fig leaf. Mr. September is an Amazon.com executive, and the DreamBoats were No. 4 on the company’s 2010 calendar sales list Thursday afternoon, right behind those “Twilight” vampires.

Everyone donated their time including Douglas and designer Kristine Dahms. Producers Kris Thompson, Inger Brockman and Sarah Schosboek gave more of themselves than their hours, too.

The three women bare their school support on the back of the calendar in a large photo above a “Surgeon General’s” black-box warning that reads in part: “This calendar contains photos of semi-nude men. It was not created, published or in any way endorsed by Vashon Island School District or any of its affiliates or board members. You may find it inappropriate for your children under 12 and a source of embarrassment for your teenagers. For adults, the images may cause giddiness, excessive laughter (which could lead to snorting), and sheer delight.”

Butz, though, had a little explaining to do at home.

He didn’t tell his sons of the affair until the calendar was done.

“Geez, Dad,” he recalls son Michael saying. “What’ve you gotten yourself into?”

Or out of, as the case may be.

Information from: The News Tribune, www.thenewstribune.com