Newsroom Notes: Businesses shine light on north-side students

Put on by the North Springfield Betterment Association, this event is in its 11th year.

According to its Web site, www.nsbanet.com, NSBA’s mission is to “promote and encourage worthwhile and honorable endeavors, which will make north Springfield a better place to work and live.”

A letter posted on the site by President Debbie Bogner notes that the group’s primary focus is improving educational opportunities for the students at 14 elementary schools in north Springfield. The group provides quarterly student awards for students and teachers, with the May celebration for all 14 schools and eligible students being the annual finale.

Throwing this party was no small feat. Bogner, who is an assistant vice president of residential lending at a north-side Commerce Bank, said that 420 students met the attendance requirements. Of those, she said 175 attended the party and brought along an additional 398 guests. And those numbers don’t include the myriad volunteers who helped make the evening a success.

Food was provided by Springfield Public Schools, nonprofits set up booths with fun giveaways, and there was a game room manned by representatives of area businesses.

“I think there were probably 15 to 18 businesses there represented on the game floor, but there was probably a list of at least 50 businesses that contributed to the event,” Bogner said.

Craig Sherertz, owner of Instant Imprints at 2445 N. Kansas Expressway, was among the business representatives in the game room. While every player at his booth got a trinket, Sherertz said he gave away 150 T-shirts to those kids who made baskets in the grand prize bucket. The shirts featured a fun design about the event on the front and his company’s logo on the back.

Sherertz said it’s the first time his business participated in the NSBA celebration, but he said the company was excited to jump in this year, particularly since the event is concentrated on the north side – and on kids.

“It cost us a little bit of money and some labor, but it was pretty simple for us since it’s our business,” Sherertz said. “We know how kids like … T-shirts.”

He’s right about that – three of those shirts made it home with my kids, and they’re already being put to good use.

Bogner said it’s hard to quantify just how much the annual party costs, because businesses such as Instant Imprints provide in-kind support, and the district contributes the food. But she said it’s definitely in the “thousands of dollars” range, considering the value of the donated goods and services, such as the $10 gift certificates for each honored child from Incredible Pizza.

Bogner said preparing for the annual attendance party is a year-round process, though the push for donations picks up closer to the end of each school year. The group also applies for grants.

This year’s party got a financial boost from a $3,000 St. Louis Cardinals Cardinals Care Grant, Bogner said.

While kids enjoyed the food and the games, probably the highlight of the evening was the prize giveaways. Eligible students put their names in drawings for prizes that ranged from bikes to video games to the handheld mini-video camera that my oldest son, Brandon, won.

Bogner said that beyond the party, NSBA is rewarding the north-side schools with the most-improved attendance with money they can use for technology needs. Those schools, in order, are Bowerman, Watkins, Robberson, Bissett and Campbell.

And while the organization also presents monthly beautification awards to north Springfield homeowners and businesses, Bogner said that focusing on elementary school attendance naturally helps north Springfield progress.

“Those kids aren’t always going to be young kids,” Bogner said. “They’re going to be our future employees; they’re going to be people who live on the north side (and) take care of the neighborhoods. We want to instill those values (at a) very young (age), because this is a great place to live and we want to keep it that way.”

Maria Hoover is Features Editor of Springfield Business Journal. She may be reached at mhoover@sbj.net. [[In-content Ad]]