Mascot Mania Gets a Wobbly Addition

You'll want to slap this guy up side the head. But it's OK. You're supposed to.

As a matter of fact, you won't be able to resist. Not even his own creators can keep from pushing him around and watching him bounce.

Faced with the challenge of decorating a Bearcat for the UC Alumni Association's Mascot Mania event, employees at Kendle International Inc. picked up on the bobblehead craze that inspires collectors to line up by the thousands. While the collectors are hoarding figurines of athletes and other pop culture icons that stand only several inches high, the Kendle team turned their UC icon into one that stands more than 50 inches high.

"We thought it looked like a bobblehead because of the oversized head," said team member Rachel Schenck, as several Kendle employees gathered to say good-bye to their creation before it headed off for its appearance at UC's Homecoming on Oct. 26.

"It was Dan Shelly's idea," says Brian Arnold (left), 1997 UC graduate in biology, referring to his co-worker in the regulatory department. Arnold is the Kendle media and research specialist who headed a committee to come up with and carry out the Kendle design for the Bearcat version of the Big Pig Gig. The company's involvement was spearheaded by its CEO, chair and co-founder, Candace Kendle, the 2002 recipient of UC's William Howard Taft Medal for Notable Achievement and a graduate of UC's College of Pharmacy.

"We are excited to participate in this important program to benefit the President's Scholarship Fund," says Dr. Kendle. "Kendle's 'Mascot Mania' entry - Bobblehead Bearcat - was a collaborative effort of our associates who are UC alumni, friends and fans. Bobblehead Bearcat truly depicts the depth of Kendle's UC spirit."

A team of 15 employees worked on the mascot at the downtown Cincinnati headquarters of the company, which specializes in global drug research and clinical testing services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The prospect of decapitating the mascot to make its head sway proved to be the most daunting aspect of the project, Arnold confessed. "We held our breath, hoping we didn't break the Fiberglass." Employee Rob Meiners operated the reciprocating saw that ultimately beheaded UC's beloved Bearcat.

For re-capitation, and the appropriate bounciness, the team turned to Arnold's father, Ivan, owner and operator of Arnold's Repair Shop in Marietta, Ohio. Together the father and son team fastened a wooden beam to the torso's base and a wood block to the inside of the head. The top of the wooden post on the base holds the key item - a thick spring that the two found after searching through piles and piles of springs.

With the mechanics in place, the project moved forward to two graphic designers, Rachel Schenck and Monica Martin, who painted and dressed the Bobblehead. For his outfit they chose a black C-paw jersey labeled No. 1 and red shorts, both of which had to be cut and glued on to fit his unusual pot belly and shape. Oil paint and a UC pennant were the finishing touches, along with a rectangular black base bearing Kendle's logo, constructed by Meiners.

In addition to Arnold, the graphic artists, Shelly and Meiners, Kendle's mascot team included Mark Adams, Jim Linde, Doug Moehring, Pete Djuric, Susan Geers-Meiners, Sasha Sims, Bernadette Hurst, Kevin Dern and Adam Sajnog.

"It's great. I'm very, very happy with it," pronounced team member Mark Adams, as he looked at the finished product. He also tested the wobbly-ness.

"We're sending our child off to college," Arnold lamented as he waited for the Alumni Association to come and take the Bobblehead away. "We're hoping maybe he'll come back to us."

The mascots will be auctioned at the President's Ball on Oct. 19 and displayed at Homecoming on Oct. 26.

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Another Mascot Blends Two Great Traditions
See what Cybearcat Sees
Mascot Mania Announced
Key Mascot Mania Events
Mascot Mania Web Site