02-27-12 Regular Meeting of La Porte City Council

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Letter Recognizing Chuck Coupland, City Council 2/27/12 The La Porte Police Department recently unveiled its handsome new D.A.R.E. Program Vehicle. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and the 30 year old highly acclaimed program is designed to give young people the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. The 2010 Dodge Charger was purchased new using money seized from drug dealers and outfitted through generous donations of products and services from business in and around La Porte. The most striking feature of the vehicle, however, is its custom paint job depicting the many unique features of La Porte as well as real to life images of emergency responders at work within the community. The custom paint job was done courtesy of La Porte’s own Coupland Signs, and represents countless hours of donated time from the company’s owner and resident artist, Chuck Coupland. Chuck was first approached in May of 2011, and asked to apply D.A.R.E. graphics onto a newly purchased La Porte Police Department D.A.R.E. vehicle. Chuck readily accepted the task, yet expressed that providing only a limited number of graphics would be an injustice to the DARE program, and asked if he could design the car in a way he envisioned as: “Chuck Coupland Style.” La Porte Police representatives agreed, and the result was a true work of art. Chuck spent the entire summer airbrushing murals by hand, showcasing area landmarks in La Porte and the Bayshore area. Images included La Porte Police Officers in performance of their duties, emblems of agencies associated with the department, and depictions of both the D.A.R.E. program and the La Porte Independent School District. A sizeable portion of the vehicle also included dedications to our U.S. armed forces. Chuck selflessly invested his time, talent, and heart into the project so the entire Bayshore community would have a D.A.R.E. car all members could be proud of. The vehicle is a true attention getter for the D.A.R.E. Program’s young target audience and citizens display elevated levels of community pride when viewing the vehicle. When driven outside of the community, the vehicle also draws attention to the City of La Porte and the many wonderful things to see and do in the community. Chuck Coupland truly defines the spirit of giving and words cannot adequately express how much the City of La Porte appreciates the sacrifice that Chuck and his family have made for this project, as well as the pride felt for the remarkable workmanship and thought that went into the creation of the DARE vehicle. Chuck is truly an amazing and gifted artist, as well as a dedicated citizen, who continues to make a difference!