Limousine service, the ultimate in luxury rental transportation, is used for many different occasions such as weddings, proms, concerts, sporting events and, of course, bachelor and bachelorette parties. But just going out for a quick lunch? Absolutely, if you happen to be a student at Evergreen Elementary.
As part of a prize package for a fund-raising event, elementary students at Evergreen, preschoolers through fifth grade, were given the opportunity to earn a limousine ride to lunch during school hours if they sold a minimum of 20 food items such as cookie dough or pizzas through the Club Choice Fund Raising company.
The event was arranged, in part, by Lyon resident Brenda Schudel, President of the Mini Viking Parents, the elementary arm of Evergreen’s Parent/Teacher Organization, to raise money for school projects. “We put the money back towards the kids, towards the school,” explained Ms. Schudel. “We’re looking at putting a sheltered pavilion out front with some picnic tables underneath it so we can do some outside learning and have some shade during recess.”
The fund raiser also provided a learning experience for the students because they had to put forth a lot of effort to sell the items. “When the man came here and told us about the prizes we thought oh, we’re going to get the limo ride, no problem. We’re going to sell 50 items,” said fifth grader Morgan Szozda, recalling her initial reaction to the challenge. “Then we get home and start to try to sell items and its harder than you think. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”
With 58 students qualifying for the ride, the school rented a 26-passenger limousine, complete with a “patio” section in the back, from Team Johnson Limousine Service in Delta and made three trips to the Country Dip restaurant on US Highway 20, just a few miles from the school. And while all the students enjoyed the great time off school grounds they had to pay a heavy price by having to give up their recess period. But in the end, all agreed it was absolutely worth it.
Bill O’Connell may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com