Jeff Wolfe drove to school this morning in his mom’s 1990 Ford Ranger pickup truck. This afternoon, he’ll drive home in a wine-colored 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Wolfe, a junior, won the car in a drawing held today at Emporia High School as part of the Renaissance Car Giveaway and Scholarship Recognition. The car, which has 80,000 miles, was donated by Longbine Auto Plaza, Emporia Motors, and John North Ford. The car also sports a new set of wheels donated by Mel’s Tires.
Wolfe’s mother, Tammy Edmiston, was as pleased as her son by his win.
“It’s so exciting,” Edmiston said. “I’m a single parent and we have car issues right now.”
The Monte Carlo solved them, though Wolfe admitted he did enjoy driving the pickup truck.
“This is cool,” he said. “It’s something new.”
Wolfe was one of 10 students whose names were drawn from a hopper full of names of students who had qualified to compete for the car.
He was the seventh student to slip behind the wheel and try a key drawn from a bowl of keys.
“I was joking with Anna (Young), ‘You’re walking,’” Wolfe said. Young had been No. 6 to try a key.
To be eligible for the prizes, special awards and the car, students needed to excel in academics, maintain good school attendance, and stay out of the principal’s office because of behavior problems this year.
Students eligible for the Renaissance Car Award must also have parental permission to take ownership of a car.
This is the 11th year that the three new car dealers have donated a used car to the EHS Renaissance program.
The car had not been part of the plans, according to Deanne Korsak, enrichment services teacher who worked on introducing the program at the school.
There was to have been an “honor card,” Korsak said. “The kids heard ‘car,’ so the word spread like wildfire. So, we approached the new-car dealers. ... They always come up with a great car.”
Renaissance also awards scholarships totaling $3,000 to students to attend Emporia State University, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.
The 2007 scholarship recipients are: Emilia Chiroy, Erik Calderon, Josh East and Jennifer Newell, Emporia State University; Tyler Thompson, University of Kansas; and Anna Young, Kansas State University.
Eligibility for the scholarships also is based on student academics and attendance, teacher recommendations and an essay.
The Renaissance program is a nationwide effort to motivate and encourage students and staff by rewarding academic excellence, according to information from Nancy Horst, community relations director for the school district.
“It was established at Emporia High School in 1996 to promote academics, attendance and attitude,” Horst said. “It has wide support from the Emporia business community, which donates prizes and meals” throughout the year.
During the school year, students can receive Most Valuable Attitude cards from any teacher for doing something good, Horst said. The cards make students eligible for prizes given away in weekly drawings. Prizes range from free meals and services at local businesses to special parking privileges.
Next week, students with perfect attendance will be recognized at a special lunch sponsored by Subway. Students in the AAA Club will be recognized at an ice cream party sponsored by Modern Air Conditioning. Students qualify for the AAA Club if they have a grade point average of 3.8 or better, at least one quarter of perfect attendance and no office referrals for disciplinary actions.