There’s a new Buzz in town.
For years, there has been discussion of a new mascot for Thomas County Central High School, and it has finally happened.
“I’ve had people asking about what happened to our old mascot for years, but it was always a time where it was either too late or just a bad time to try to put it together,” Randy Young, Broadcasting teacher at TCCHS said. “This time the timing was right and I contacted the boosters who wanted to see it become a reality.”
Buzz was first revealed in front of the students at their pep rally before the Cairo game. Fog machines, strobe lights, even a video was used to make a special grand unveiling for Buzz.
But getting him to Central wasn’t easy. The new mascot cost around $4,000. To cover the costs, the TCCHS Boosters Club and Young appealed to the community first, raising around $1,400 in just a few days through an online fundraising campaign. Wendy’s then stepped forward and offered to pay the remainder of the balance, which was around $2,800.
The mascot was then ordered through Maydwell Mascots out of Ontario, Canada, who also makes mascots for NCAA teams.
“Our fans, our athletic booster club, and Wendy’s made it happen,” Young said. “The fact that it only took a few days to get everything together and then raise the money speaks pretty strongly to how badly our fans had missed him.”
The second ‘Buzz’ appearance was made at the football game against Cairo. Buzz assisted the cheerleaders, took many pictures with young jackets fans, and even rode on his own BuzzMobile (donated by Battery Source and Moonspin Pizza) around the track.
“Kind of like Georgia Tech has the ‘Rambling Wreck’ for their mascot, we decided it would be cool to put together a custom kind of cart for Buzz to ride at our home games, parades, and other community wide events,” Young said.
Battery Source and Moonspin Pizza worked together to create the custom “BuzzMobile” that he’ll use locally. Tintworks also put a custom graphic decal ‘wrap’ to create the look of the BuzzMobile.
No one person will bring Buzz to life this year. Since the Broadcasting department had a great input on securing the new mascot, wearing the Buzz costume will be rotated throughout the year amongst some of the program’s upperclassmen.
“When I am in the suit, I am able to let my guard down and really show my true personality,” Richard Lewis, TCCHS Broadcasting senior, said. “I get the chance to help motivate folks, entertain them, and be a part of something that is way bigger than myself.”
Buzz will make as many appearances as possible to county-wide events, sports games, and parades.
“Some people might not understand why having Buzz is worth all of the effort and expense, but when you see how little kids and even older folks react when he’s around you can see it was definitely worth it,” TCCHS Broadcasting senior Miranda Dees concluded. “For a lot of folks, Buzz is the living embodiment of the spirit of our school.”