First Baptist Church hosts annual Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix youth events
AWANA Junior Grand Prix participants ... Left to right - Front row: Meredith Kelley, Luke Kelley, Wade Tilleraas, Annabelle Roth, Tessalyn Round; Back row: Walker Kruse, Colter Kruse, Gabriella Roth, Ivanna Rodriguez, Emma Velarde. Submitted photo.
AWANA Grand Prix top award winners ... Left to right - Front row: Eireann Goettel, First-Place Speed; Lucas Fankhauser, Second-Place Speed; Keith Enyart, Third-Place Speed; Collin Russell, Good Sportsmanship; Back row: Gracelyn Kelley, First-Place Design; Trevor Round, Second-Place Design; Kaya Johnson, Third-Place Design; Zeza Willoughby, Good Sportsmanship. Submitted photo.
First Baptist Church of Waukon held its 2021 AWANA Grand Prix Car Race earlier this spring at the Church. Pastor Duane Smith gave the AWANA Challenge, and the evening was opened with the pledges to the American flag, the AWANA flag and the Bible. Grand Prix Chairman was Larry Gelo, and he also announced the race.
Jeff Goettel was the Starter Chairman and Chris Kerndt was the Chart Keeper. Judging the cars on Design were Pam Kerndt, Paul Promnitz and Kari Roney. Finish line monitors were Cole Kruse and Gabe Goettel, and weigh-in judges were Dale Roney and Craig Schrick. JoAnn Gelo was in charge of decorations, and refreshments were served by Brenda Schmidt and Jean Buntrock.
The second annual Junior Grand Prix Race was also held earlier this spring featuring young racers from the AWANA Puggles (two-three year olds) and Cubbies (preschool) groups. Puggles racers included Annabelle Roth, Luke Kelley, Wade Tilleraas and Colter Kruse. Cubbies racers were Ivanna Rodriguez, Emma Velarde, Meredith Kelley, Gabriella Roth, Tessalyn Round and Walker Kruse.
Racers brought in their favorite “Hot Wheels” cars from home, and if they didn’t have one, one was provided for them. A new feature was added to the event this year with tractor races, and fellow Truth and Training clubber Trevor Round deserves a great amount of appreciation for supplying a variety of little tractors for fellow clubbers to choose from.
Ribbons and trophies were awarded to all 10 racers in that Junior Grand Prix event. Various award categories for the cars and tractors included Fastest, Best Fuel Economy, Farthest Distance Traveled, Best Brakes, Prettiest, Most Sporty, Most Colorful, Tallest, Most Patriotic, Most Resembling a Monster Truck, Funniest, and Smallest.
Judges for this year’s Junior Grand Prix included Cubbies Director Jomarie Scholtes and Cubbies Leader Lauran White. Master of Ceremonies duties were performed by Puggles Co-Directors Tristan Round and Linda Seibert, with Jim Seibert in charge of construction and design of the race track. An empty carpet roll for the event was also provided by Floors Plus of Waukon.
