Defending The Blue Line® actively works to ensure that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the game of hockey. Shane Hudella founded Defending The Blue Line (DTBL) a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the spring of 2009 to help military families with the high costs of hockey and help ensure that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the great sport. Prior to running DTBL, Hudella was on active duty for the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed for Operation Desert Storm in 1990.
With over $1 million in giving since its inception, DTBL provides support to military families across all branches. DTBL’s giving includes providing equipment, professional game tickets, access to high-end camps, and grants to assist with association hockey fees. They have now also expanded to providing support for Canadian military families, as well as support for youth baseball through the Defending the Baseline brand. See http://www.defendingtheblueline.org/
As a parent of three school aged hockey players, and a board member for my local hockey association, I was excited when a fellow community member provided an introduction to Shane. Not having served in the armed forces myself, to say I’m forever grateful for the service of our armed forces is a huge understatement. So the opportunity for our company to partner with this great organization is truly an honor.
Timing was good as Polaris Industries, Inc. recently donated a RZR ATV to DTBL, and they were looking to have it wrapped in a desert camouflage pattern as a showcase piece for various events throughout the year. After a quick trip to DTBL’s headquarters to meet Shane in person he agreed to trust Impression Signs and Graphics with this unique vehicle wrap and graphics project.
Our first challenge was finding artwork that adequately represented the camo pattern the client was looking for. We found a medium grade raster image file that was a perfect match, but if used, would result in obvious tiling pattern in the print as well as a fair amount of pixilation. We then found an existing vector art image that was of the right flavor, but didn’t have the appropriate proportion of the various colors in the pattern. With a few hours of work we were able to modify the artwork to be a great representation of the client’s intended design and avoid all the issues of using a mediocre raster image file.
The wrap installation presented typical challenges in working around complex contours on the hood and several switches on the ATV dashboard. The extra effort to remove much of the hardware prior to installing the wrap helped the process significantly.
We’re excited to be working with DTBL on another upcoming project at their headquarters, as well as participating in their upcoming golf tournament- the Camo Classic. See – http://www.defendingtheblueline.org/get-involved/events/camo-classic/ for more information.
Impression Signs and Graphics
