Rathdrum residents rally to rev their rides

NIC students and surrounding community members met Saturday to showcase their classic cars for the second annual Rathdrum Rumble. The event was held at NIC’s Parker Technical Educational Center in Rathdrum.

Visitors were greeted with 97 show vehicles ranging from the early 20th century up until recent models. All entries were categorized as either hot rod/modified, young builder (under 25 years old), classic car, truck, import or motorcycle.

NIC’s Autobody and Paint Technology program hosted the event to raise funds to send students to the National SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta next spring. Students compete in different categories such as refinishing, collision repair, and estimating. 

Andy Rogee, an Auto Collision instructor for the Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC) teaches classes on the NIC campus and helped organize this event. Many of his students use the facilities at Parker to help train for both regional and national competitions.

“We enjoy the students competing because you get to see them focus and see if they want this as a career” Rogee said.

Along with vehicle entry fees, the event also raised funds through a raffle which split the proceeds between the winners and the program. Additionally the event hosted tours of the Parker campus and its facilities.

Lila Nosler, a dual enrolled student in the Autobody collision repair program, returned from this year’s national competition with 1st place in her category. Lila, along with other students, guided tours of the campus with hopes of recruiting new students. 

“It’s a very fun environment, [there’s] never tension.” Lila said, “If you love learning and you love having fun, you should join.”