Proceeds from “Awesome Rides” calendar nearly double in second year to benefit Eastern Allamakee Schools ...
For the second consecutive year, 1973 Kee High School graduate Ray Burroughs of Waukon created and sold an “Awesome Rides” classic car calendar to benefit all extracurricular activities in the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD). Pictured above, Burroughs (right) presents a $7,100 donation check to Eastern Allamakee Community School District PK-12 Principal Donna Thomas (left) during halftime of the Kee girls varsity basketball game of the Friday, February 7 boys and girls basketball doubleheader with MFL/MarMac. That donation amount is nearly double the $3,700
Burroughs was able to donate last year, and he said this year’s amount would not have been possible without the 36 sponsors who helped defray the costs of printing and creating the calendars. “The sponsors are what made this year’s larger donation possible, so please go see them for anything you might need, and tell them Ray the Calendar Guy sent you.”
Those sponsors for this year’s calendar included Kerndt Brothers Insurance, West Side Waukon Lumber, Bodensteiner Implement, Severson Service, Moore Plastering, Hirth’s Junk Removal, Lansing Custom Homes, Lansing Auto Parts, New Albin Savings Bank, Lansing Collision Center, Kious Kountry Auto Collision Center, Polished on Main, Clark Tire Pros, Peoples State Bank, R.W. Pladsen, Village Farm & Home - Lansing, Touch of Class/Big River Taxidermy, Cole’s Auto Repair, South Side Marine, State Farm Insurance - Scott Houg, McMillan Muffler, Hennessy Towing, Kerndt Brothers Bank, Caleb Colsch Family, EpicWear, WW Homestead Dairy, Wyninger Builders, Darling’s Repair, FreedomBank, Churchtown Customs, The Iron Mine, Howards Home Furnishings, Becker Brothers Construction, The Buck Stops Here, Studio K, Torkelson’s. The sponsors’ business ads were printed on a sheet wrapped around this year’s calendar.
Burroughs started the calendar last year in honor of graduating 50 years earlier from Kee High School, wanting to do something to give back to his alma mater. He emphasized that the proceeds from the calendar sales will be evenly split between all extracurricular activities in the Eastern Allamakee Community School District. In addition to benefiting the Eastern Allamakee Community School District, the “Awesome Rides” calendar also features photos of classic vehicles owned by residents within or individuals otherwise associated with the school district, offering even more of a local interest and impact. “These people put hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into these vehicles, and they are proud to have them included in a calendar like this one that serves to benefit the kids at the school they once attended themselves,” Burroughs shared.
Anyone who wants to be part of future calendars is asked to mail Burroughs a letter expressing that interest and perhaps also sharing a photo of the vehicle they would like to include. That letter can be sent to: Ray Burroughs, 410 3rd Street NE, Waukon, IA 52172. Photo by Danielle Potter.
