A Tiger’s Tale of its Journey to Adel

ADM Alumni Tiger Statue

Roaring with Pride
Alumni Association’s Tiger Mascot Statue Coming to Life

Original sketches renderings by Dana Brown Design ADM Class of 2002 Chicago Fiberglass Works

Picture approaching ADM High School. You’re at distance, but something new catches your eye. It’s large and shiny and boldly painted in bright red and black.

Crowds of tiger fans are gathering near with excitement. As you finally get closer you get a better look – it’s a larger than life tiger statue, and it’s soon to be the new focal point on ADM’s school campus in Adel this Fall.

Long before my time on the Alumni board, a permanent fixture on the association’s project wish list was the purchase of a tiger statue.

When we began planning a new winter fundraising event in late 2018, we felt it was important to identify a specific special project to dedicate funds towards. After much consideration, in February 2019 we announced that proceeds from the first annual Red & Black Bash would go exclusively towards a long-awaited tiger statue. With this decision, a plan to check this project off our list was in motion.

We soon realized that this was perhaps one of the largest projects spearheaded by the Alumni Association to date. Over the last year and a half, the Alumni Association developed a complete project plan in collaboration with ADM School Administration for the production and donation of a custom tiger statue to be placed on ADM’s High School Campus. Simultaneously, the Alumni Association worked tirelessly on fundraising and promotion of the project. Through executing two Red & Black Bash events over two years fueled by amazing community support, we finally hit the goal needed to bring our Tiger to life.

As all projects go, getting to where we are now has been a process. What we envisioned building was not an ordinary mascot statue typical at most high schools. After thorough research including visits to mascot statues around the state, the Alumni Association confidently selected an artist in Chicago to design and hand build our statue. Chicago Fiberglass Works has designed fine fiberglass art and mascot statues for 6 decades and has created mascots for many colleges including the University of Iowa and UNI. With much excitement, production of our statue began in March of this year and is estimated to be completed in July 2020.

From Ink to Statue

The statue is being uniquely designed on brand to ADM’s own tiger – it’s truly one of a kind. The statue will have a dominating presence exceeding 6 feet long in length, with the tiger face sitting at nearly eye level in height. The body form will be smooth and streamlined in texture. Since production began in March, we have had the pleasure of working directly with the sculptor through each step of the design process. What began as a simple hand sketch is now a full-fledged foam tiger form, perfected and hand carved down to every claw and tooth. The final statue will be fiberglass, poured and cast from a coated mold form and finished off with custom painting to match ADM’s official school colors of red, black, white and gray.

Approximate Location of Statue

When complete, the planned placement of the statue is set for outside the Middle School Northwest entrance where it will be elevated on a two-step concrete base, making it viewable from Nile Kinnick Drive and beyond. The proposed location is in a well-lit area close in proximity to the school and will be under video surveillance for added safety. The large base design will provide a great platform for photo opportunities and interaction with the statue for all tiger fans, young and old.

View the Sponsor List

While the Alumni Association is the vehicle bringing this statue to Adel, this effort would not be possible without the support of so many.

We chose this project because we know it will create a sense of community in our district and encourage pride and tiger spirit among students, faculty, alumni and school supporters for many years.

We can’t wait to bring your ADM Tiger home.
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We frequently receive progress photos and have been sharing those on our Facebook group: ADM Tiger Mascot Statue.

We invite you to join our group ADM Tiger Mascot Statue to follow along

– Dana Brown
“Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger”

Article courtesy of ADM Alumni Association
Photos courtesy of ADM Alumni Association
and Chicago Fiberglass Works