By: Katie Harner
On Saturday, October 16th, Goreville School hosted Fall Fest, which was primarily put on by FFA, Beta Club, and the sophomore class. They had a great turnout; the clubs and the class raised a lot of money.
To begin with, perhaps the biggest draw of Fall Fest is the seasonal hayride. The FFA had two rotating hayrides: a traditional hayride and a haunted hayride. The FFA club has hosted this hayride for the past eight years. It seems that it has always been a hit, and people come back for it every year. Furthermore, the sophomore class hosted a chili supper, a “jail,” and a soda ring toss.
Sophomore class president, Ty Schuetz said, “I love helping on a day-to day basis, so I enjoyed working at
the Fall Fest.” Always looking forward, Serenity Williams, a sophomore, said, “I had so much fun working it, and I can’t wait for next year. I’m sure it’ll be even better!”
Lastly, the Beta Club set up many different games at Fall Fest, including face painting, balloon darts, a duck pond game, jump the-ropes, and a bean bag toss. While much of the money was raised for State and Nationals, the Beta Club also raised money for another purpose: the family of Heath Toothman, a high school senior from Eldorado who recently passed. Addie Buchanan explained: “We had a fundraiser for Heath’s family to help pay for all their expenses. We had a jar of candy corn, and people paid to guess how many were in the jar. We also set up a donation bucket as well.”
Mrs. Stanley, the sponsor of Beta Club, always leads the students in ways to best serve the community. As I was helping the Beta Club with face painting, I talked to the children while I painted. One child said, “This is so much fun! I always love it here.” It warmed my heart that not only were we raising money, but we were making people happy. It is for that very reason that we host this Fall Fest every year.
