THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406030293
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: Medium
The 16-year-old sophomore didn't buy a new car during the school day. She won it.
{REST} Jackie's name was drawn from about 1,200 student entries in Green Run's Third Annual Gold Card Give-Away Assembly. She was one of five prize winners to receive recognition for attendance throughout the school year. The car and some of the other prizes given during the day came from RK Chevrolet, one of Green Run's Adopt-A-School partners.
Kathleen Malone, a business teacher at the school and one of two Adopt-A-School coordinators at Green Run, said ``improved attendance was our goal when we started this incentive program three years ago.'' Joy Goss is Green Run's other coordinator for the program.
The Adopt-A-School Committee and its partners play an integral role in the success of this and other programs, Green Run educators said. In addition to RK, supporting businesses include McDonald's restaurants, ECPI and Josten's.
``Adopt-A-School partners promote school activities such as field trips,'' said Lynn Whalen, the attendance secretary at Green Run. In addition to giving the car away each year, RK also offers other incentives to student achievement. It provides tickets to Norfolk Tides baseball games and offers free oil changes.
``Kids were doubtful at first, but when they saw that first car given away, they became excited and involved,'' Malone said.
How involved is obvious from the fact that more than half of the school's 2,350 students maintained or improved their attendance to qualify for the grand finale drawing.
``Students had to improve their attendance by more than 50 percent or have no more than two absences during a nine-week grading period,'' said Whalen.
The drawing for the prizes was held in the school gymnasium at 1 p.m. Thursday. After opening remarks by Principal Donald E. Stowers and Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, the assembly was entertained by the school band, the cheerleaders, a dance squad and the Naval Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps drill team.
Oberndorf stepped up to the wire cylinder containing the 1,200 names and selected a card with Heather Lawson's name.
Lawson won the fifth-place prize, a ride in the Chevy race car parked on the gym floor. Mario Carter won 12 Tides tickets for the fourth-place prize. The next two winners, Annette Haas and Jenny Manaugh, won a third off and half off discounts toward an RK purchase.
When the mayor drew Baird's name and the principal called it, the shy sophomore came down from the bleachers with a blushing smile and a look of disbelief on her face. She accepted the keys to the car from Tom Bates, vice president of RK, and walked toward the car.
Baird opened the door, looked in and said nervously, ``I don't know how to drive a straight stick.'' Her twin quickly offered his help.
by CNB