Stockton Thunder’s Stick “Two” Reading

For the third consecutive year, HP4K members organized and ran Stick to Reading in Stockton, California. Only this year they did one better; running it at two different schools in the area! The event was organized by the Stockton Thunder’s Jessica Fillo, Alex Geche, Dave Piecuch and HP4K member Jody Pederson with a little help from former player Daryl Marcoux.

The first event took place at Bristow Middle School in Brentwood, CA on Febuary 7, 2012. Bristow held one of the first ever Stick to Reading programs back in 2010 and again in 2011. Jody Pederson, Ian O’Connor, Brock Matheson, Gabriel Levesque, Colten Hayes, and Chris Doyle of the Thunder were welcomed with open arms and loud cheers as they faced off against the STR winners. The atmosphere was electric with a large crowd, music, and even cheerleaders! After a brief introduction of the players and a little bit about HP4K, the game was on.  It was a back and forth game, but in the end, the middle schoolers came out on top, 9-8. More importantly, the winners of the competition each read between 5 and 8 books in just 8 weeks! There was also an auction of items generously donated by the Stockton Thunder to raise money during the games’ intermissions. Parents were able to purchase tickets to the game, raffle tickets, and bid on all the auction items to benefit the school’s Accelerated Reader Program.

Not to be outdone, the second event took place at Pioneer Elementary School in Brentwood on Febuary 22. Thunder players Sebastian Owuya, Cam Abney, and Jody Pederson arrived ready for a tough game. The gym was packed with kids and parents as 5 separate mini-games were played against grades 1 through 5. Again the kids managed to come out on top in each game. An auction was held at the end of the game to raise money for Pioneer’s own Accelerated Reader Program.

The Thunder finished off both events with autograph signings for the kids and their parents. A great time was had by all and the players look forward to being able to continue this tradition in Stockton in years to come!  Many thanks to the Stockton Thunder organization and the parents and kids who participated.