Meet 'Shug,' the new costumed mascot for the Chinook Sugarbeeters

'Shug' (sounds like "sug" in sugar) is the newest version of Chinook High's mascot, the Sugarbeeter. The new version of the mascot made its premier, in its official mascot-role, at a home basketball game on January 12, 2018. The iconic mascot has made state and national news through the years for its unique history and unusual look. The Sugarbeeter placed in the top five most unique high school mascots in a nationwide poll sponsored by "USA Today" in 2013, losing to Centralia, Illinois' Orphans.

The creation of 'Shug'

Jerilyn Wood, Chinook High's Cheer Squad Head Coach, said since taking over leadership of the cheer squad she was hoping to someday to buy a new mascot outfit. She explained, "When we would visit other schools I saw the need for a better mascot for use at sports events, school functions and in the community. The costumes we had were all homemade and really old." The Cheer Coach added, "The Sugarbeeter mascot draws a lot of interest just because it is so unique. I felt it was important to have a nice representation of the mascot." She figured it would take about five years of fundraising to have enough money to buy a really nice costume.

Then things changed when a new source of revenue presented itself. The Chinook Schools' Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) disbanded. The group was aware of Wood's desire to get a new mascot costume. PTO leaders approached Wood and offered to donate their remaining funds toward a new costume. She said, "With the money the cheerleaders had already raised through their cheer camp for kids and doing concessions, we had enough to buy a nice mascot costume."

After doing some research on businesses that made costumes for mascots, she settled on Bam Mascots in Ontario. Wood said she found a number of companies that sold stock costumes-lots of bears, lions, eagles and pirates. There were fewer companies that could design, then make a custom outfit, which is what was required to get a Sugarbeeter. She worked with the company to include exactly what she wanted in the costume. Wood was a cheerleader at Havre High so had experience about what was needed to have a functional as well as attractive costume for a mascot.

Originally there was a plan to let CHS students select the name for the new mascot. Wood said, "One of the names suggested was 'Shug' and the students began using it to identify the new mascot. The name stuck and everyone seemed to like it. There was no need for a poll."

'Shug' was completed at Bam Mascots on December 22, 2017, the mascot's official birthday. Asked if there might be some special birthday events for Shug in the future, Wood smiled and said, "Maybe."

How can a costumed mascot help the school?

There are a number of opinions about the importance of a costumed mascot. Raynee Hasler, a cheerleader at Chinook High, explained cheerleaders are responsible "To support our team and to get the crowd involved with cheering. It's sometimes easier said than done."

When she learned about the new costume, she was "thrilled." She believes the mascot can help fans and athletes get excited and pumped up for games. She added that kids love a mascot they can hug and dance with and Hasler added"The mascot will be a positive role model to younger students in the community." Hasler thinks the costumed mascot can also help the Beeter Buddies, a program that connects elementary students with high schoolers to smooth the path to high school.

As Cheer Coach, Wood believes the new mascot will increase school spirit and help get the crowd into a game during sports contests. She sees other roles for the mascot, like reading to kids at community events, marching in parades, working with Beeter Buddies and, perhaps, visiting residents at the local nursing home. She added, "Because the Sugarbeeter is so interesting when people see it personified they really lose their minds."

Another group of students approached the school board for permission to start a Facebook page featuring 'Shug.' Kourtney Hanson presented the request to the board. She explained, "It's (the Facebook page) a project that is part of our Media Tech class. The page will be the face of student engagement at CHS." Students envision photos of Shug with fans at sporting events, Shug reading to kids in elementary school and appearing at a variety of community events. Hanson said the page is still being constructed.

Being 'Shug'

At first it was rumored there would by tryouts for who would wear the new costume. Jerilyn Wood said, "Two students stepped up and volunteered to wear the new costume. It was never necessary to have tryouts, we had two sophomores willing to be Shug," said Woods. Jase Pursley said he agreed to do it because it "looked fun." Kurtis Hamilton agreed to be the mascot "At first it was as a joke. Then when I saw the new costume and how the little kids reacted to it, I got excited to be Shug."

When suited up Jase said, "It's a little hard to see exactly where you're walking. Also the body has a lot of padding, even in the boots, so it's a bit difficult to judge how close you are to a potential hazard." At Shug's first home game, the cheerleaders all seemed anxious to help Sugh make its way around the gym and stay out of harm's way.

What's the future hold for Shug?

Only time will tell just how big a role the new costumed mascot has at CHS and in the community. Raynee Hasler, the CHS cheerleader said, "Maybe it could even help the cheerleaders perform at half time at games. After meeting our new Sugarbeeter, I can't wait to see what happens next!" What happens next is the rest of the story, yet to be told.