Lots of people enter radio contests, but few win — and the prize is usually concert tickets. But when Clifton's John Kinter entered and won rock station DC101's (WWDC-FM) "Paint Your Garage" contest, he hit the jackpot.
He's now the proud owner of a bright yellow, 2002 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, courtesy of DC101 and Koons Tysons Corner Chevrolet. And is it ever cool!
"It's automatic — with every option possible — a DVD player, a navigational system and a $9,000 sound system," said Kinter, 41. "It's worth about $65,000 total."
Not a professional artist, Kinter owns Eurosport Auto Body in Springfield. He's listened to DC101 for more than two decades. "We play it at work, all day long," he said.
In mid-May, a "Paint Your Garage" contest was announced on the "Elliot in the Morning" show. Entrants had to paint an at-least 8x8-foot garage door and incorporate DC101, Elliot in the Morning and the Koons Chevrolet logo in it. Said Kinter: "The rest was up to your imagination." Photos of the finished works were due by June 21.
"I immediately knew what I wanted to put on the door," said Kinter. "I went on their Web site and looked at the car they were giving away. I had the idea to paint the car as if it were parked in the garage."
Taking it a step further, he created a patriotic theme, as well. In the background, with the car looking from the Virginia side of the Potomac River, he painted the National Cathedral, White House, Capitol Building, Washington Monument and Jefferson and Lincoln memorials. He also showed the Pentagon with the American flag draped over its side.
It took a month to complete. To make the car actual-size, Kinter traced the back of a friend's Corvette onto a big sheet of tracing paper and transferred it to the garage door. Then he bought Ralph Lauren paint and created the scene with brushes and a paint gun.
"The hardest part was getting the dimensions for the buildings correct so the perspective would be right," said Kinter. "It was fun to do. In light of everything that's been going on, this past year, I wanted something that people could look at and be proud about — all our treasures in D.C."
Two friends, Aurelian and Steve, did the finely detailed parts, such as the faces of three DC101 radio personalities. Said Kinter: "Diane and Flounder are in the hot-air balloon, and Elliot is flying the plane that's pulling the banner."
Kinter and wife Kathy just bought their home, a year ago, so at first, she wasn't too thrilled about him repainting their garage. "Because we're new in the neighborhood, she didn't want people to think we're wacked," he explained. "But it brought the whole neighborhood together." People dropped by with suggestions and, after Kinter won, they all celebrated, Saturday, with a party.
From the 100 contest entries, five finalists were selected and DC101 chose the winner. Finalists had to be home last Wednesday, June 26, between 7-10 a.m. "They weren't gonna announce it on the air," said Kinter. "They were gonna drive up to the winner's home."
Delivering the Corvette were Elliot's right-hand man, Flounder, DC101 promotions director Colin Campbell and Koons Chevrolet general manager Alex Perdikis. They talked with Elliot on the air, en route, describing the scenery along the way. Around 7:30 a.m., Kinter listened while sipping coffee on the tailgate of his 1985 Ford pickup.
When they said they were .3 mile away, he thought he heard the Corvette's engine. "My wife said, 'You're hearing things — don't get too excited,'" said Kinter. "And then we saw the car coming around the bend, and we about fell on our backs. I could hardly speak. We hugged each other and said, 'Oh, my God, can you believe it?'"
He drove it to work that day and will also drive it in Clifton's 4th of July parade. The garage door will stay decorated through the summer, or longer. "We're expecting our first baby in five months," said Kinter. "So I'll change the 'Elliot in the Morning' banner to 'Welcome Home' and the baby's name, or 'It's a Boy' or 'It's a Girl.'"