Pierce Elementary School announced as winner of Small Towns Matter
PIERCE, Neb. - News Channel Nebraska and UnitedHealthcare announced the winner for year five of Small Towns Matter.
This year’s Small Towns Matter winner is Pierce Elementary School.
On Tuesday, May 16, at 9 a.m. each student will be given a bicycle helmet and the school will receive a $2,500 check at the school.
Pierce Elementary School Principal Trent Suehl said that even though the kids don’t know yet, he knows they will be excited and thankful.
“It will be a big shock to them,” he said. “They will be surprised. They will be really excited about it. They’re pretty appreciative of things, so they will be thankful too.”
Along with the students’ excitement, Suehl said that he was excited when he got the news that Pierce Elementary won.
“It caught me a little by surprise because we hadn’t heard anything on it,” he said. “I was really excited about it because our students and community really deserve it.”
Pierce Elementary School was chosen out of hundreds of registrants.
“We are extremely pleased that out of the hundreds of registrants on NCN’s website, Pierce Elementary was the chosen winner," said Matt Milam, UnitedHealthcare's Executive Director. "We look forward to participating in the giveaway ceremony on Tuesday, May 16 at the school."
Suehl said that it shows how important school is in Pierce.
“It shows how much community support we have for our school, and the pride that we take in education in Pierce," Suehl said. "It’s a nice way to recognize our students. The fact that we won, it’s a nice way to give back to our students as well.”
“It’s such an honor that we get to continue this program with a great partner in UnitedHealthcare,” said Jessica Walker, general manager for News Channel Nebraska. “This is our fifth year and seventh giveaway, and it’s amazing to see how this continues to grow and give everyone in their communities a chance to support their youth.”
UnitedHealthcare’s Executive Director Matt Milam echoed similar sentiments.
“As in the past, we at UnitedHealthcare greatly appreciate the opportunity to partner with News Channel Nebraska in our efforts to recognize the many communities that are vital to the framework and overall success of the State of Nebraska,” Milam said.
NCN will be broadcasting live from Pierce Elementary School on Wednesday morning at 9, and the event is open to the public to attend in person.
Starting in 2019, NCN has held a contest throughout the entire state where community members are encouraged to register their elementary school for the Small Towns Matter prize – bicycle helmets for each student and a $2500 cash donation to the school to use for any of their needs.
“We worked with NCN to develop a way to not only acknowledge the dedication of the local schools and their respective staffs, but also to encourage the students to be active," Milam said. "The result is the Small Towns Matter program where we award a local school a $2,500 grant to use in whatever manner deemed most appropriate for that school, but we also give away bicycle helmets to every student. UnitedHealthcare believes in helping individuals live healthier lives, so we felt the bicycle helmets were a great way for the students to be active and safe.”
There will be another contest this fall, and everyone is encouraged to register their school to win.