Community Events: Back to School!

It’s back to school season and we’re very excited about our community involvement. A few weeks ago we participated in the teachers’ appreciation breakfast. We’re members of the Altoona Chamber. The Altoona Chamber, Pleasant Hill Chamber, and a few other organizations throw a big breakfast for teachers on the first day of work, which is usually the week before school starts. That’s when the teachers get to prepare and start putting everything together.

Hy-Vee is a big sponsor of the event. They provided breakfast items like breakfast pizza, orange juice, and coffee. It isn’t just one school, either. All the teachers and staff in the Southeast Polk School District get to attend. There was enough food to feed around 500 people. I think there were close to 700 people total, so it was first come, first serve. We were there from around 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

The chamber lets all the businesses in the area know about the event as well. Reusable cloth bags are given out and the businesses can give coupons or company information. One of the local pizza places gave a mini pizza box that had a coupon for a free pizza and a discounted item. There was also some stuff from a local salon and other organizations involved in the chamber.

I was able to go and hand out bags to teachers, welcome them, and thank them for what they do to help the students. I was there to be a friendly face and say hello. It’s fun to see all the new teachers at the event. Of course, they look extremely young to be 20 years old, so it makes me feel older.

Facebook also built three large buildings right by us. Their employees joined in the fun and helped out at the event.

We’re glad to be a part of this community. Our community involvement is a way to say thanks. We value the support that we get from everybody in the area.