Moscow’s beloved Palouse ice skating rink has suffered a few chips and dips over its 25-year history.
But it’s nothing a Zamboni can’t fix.
Meet one of its Zambonis — Vandal Solutions.
Not actually a slow-motion ice making machine, Vandal Solutions is a group comprised of more than 50 University of Idaho students dedicated to promoting and marketing real businesses and organizations — such as the ice rink.
The Vandal Solutions program, offered through the College of Business and Economics, provides students with experience negotiating contracts, making sales, marketing, advertising and producing promotional visuals — from pamphlets to videos — to help promote regional businesses and nonprofits. And students earn college credits for their involvement.
In Fall ’25 a Vandal Solutions marketing team led by U of I senior Maggie Meyer and including fellow students Lucy McDougald, Peyton Watson, Ivoree Sudol, Elise Hinchliff and Iffat Taiiba joined forces with Palouse Ice Rink manager Laura Wold to raise money and boost the venue’s brand.
The team settled on a promotional fundraiser, inviting the public to the rink for a community event that included food, games and events pitting local contestants and members of the WSU and Vandal hockey teams against each other.
The team rounded up silent auction packages containing goods, gift cards and merchandise from a myriad of local businesses.
The headliner? A Zamboni package.
The high bidder would learn how to drive a Zamboni on the ice.
A Zamboni is a giant driven machine that resurfaces the ice of a skating rink by shaving a thin layer of old ice from the rink’s surface, collecting the resulting snow, and laying down a layer of water to freeze into a smooth icy surface.
“I think everyone has a hidden desire to operate a Zamboni at some point in their life,” Meyer said.
Wold, one of the rink’s actual, part-time Zamboni drivers, agreed.
“The Vandal Solutions team and I sat around brainstorming and decided that running a Zamboni would be a cool prize for a lucky raffle winner,” said Wold, a former college hockey player and coach who took over the rink’s reins six years ago.
I think everyone has a hidden desire to operate a Zamboni at some point in their life.
Maggie Meyer
Senior in sustainable food systems
During its 25-year tenure in Moscow, the rink which bills itself “the Happiest Place on the Palouse,” has been quartered in several locations before settling in its now permanent upscale digs. As a community nonprofit, funding has been a challenge.
The rink that sports ice for six months each year has an annual shortfall of around $100,000 despite a myriad of programs, including summer programs, that help pay to keep the doors open.
Vandal Solutions’ November fundraiser raised around $1,700 and showed visitors what the rink has to offer in addition to the usual menu of skating, slapping pucks, swishing broomballs and learning the subtle art of curling.
“We have a lot of amenities including private rooms for birthday parties; we host fundraisers, and groups can rent the entire facility,” Wold said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
For Meyer, who will earn a bachelor’s in sustainable food systems through the College of Agricultural Life Sciences and a minor in marketing through the College of Business and Economics, the occasion to promote the ice rink through a community event allowed her to showcase her own experience as a promoter.
“I want to work with nonprofits in the future, and this project really helped me focus and gave me a hands-on internship,” Meyer said.
At the beginning of the semester, she and her team established goals for the fall event. With Wold’s help and creative ideas from team members, the Vandal Solutions students developed an outline that included a timeline, contests and fundraising ideas.
“We decided on a kid’s skills contest, U of I versus WSU hockey skills competition and a public skate to get children and community involvement — giving them a reason to come and support the rink,” Meyer said.
The group brainstormed how best to raise money and decided on silent auction packages and a food sale.
“After that, our event and marketing planning began. It primarily consisted of flyer and web design, distribution plan and event logistics,” she said. “Each team member developed pieces of the project.”
Flyers were distributed downtown and on the U of I campus and social media posts were pushed online.
Working with the Vandal Solutions team was profitable for the rink, Wold said, but also enjoyable.
“I love working with the students,” Wold said. “It’s nice to get more community involvement and tell the story of the rink. We are community-run so all our income is based on sales. It’s a tricky balance between providing opportunities but also being able to afford them. The Vandal Solutions team helped us with positive publicity with fun events that focused on what matters: bringing the community together in a safe and inclusive environment.”
Mya Groza, associate dean and professor of marketing, helped Maggie and her team connect with the rink for its promotional project.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my role is bringing students and community partners together,” Groza said. “The fall fundraising event is a perfect example — our Vandal Solutions students partnered with the Palouse Ice Rink to create an event that not only raised funds for a great cause but also gave students invaluable experience in leadership and collaboration. These are the moments that show the true impact of experiential learning.”