LAKE COUNTY – Lower Lake High School (LLHS) has dropped to seventh place in the race for a $100,000 award courtesy of U.S. Cellular. The “Calling all Communities” program will award a total of $1 million dollars among 10 schools across the nation and LLHS could benefit if the community”s support is strong enough.
The community is being called upon and is invited to a special vote-casting event noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at the U.S. Cellular store in the Burns Valley Shopping Mall. According to Karlon Baker, the company”s local sales rep, the contest is highly regulated and only one vote per person is permitted. Votes must be cast at a U.S. Cellular location by Jan. 15 and you must be 18 years or older.
“They are putting it in the communities” hands where that money is going to go. If you notice who is in seventh place, it”s Lower Lake High School,” Baker said when she presented the program to members of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. “We can get the $100,000 if we can keep them there.”
Baker said the key to keeping LLHS in the top 10 is focus. She said that even though her own child attends Oak Hill Middle School a vote for LLHS serves a better purpose because the high school is a contender in the contest. “If we can keep our votes focused and remember that every kid is going to go through LLHS at some point,” Baker said.
Baker reported that smaller schools across the nation are receiving strong support in the campaign. Nearly half of the schools currently hanging in the top 20 are located in towns with less than 5,000 residents.
“What makes this so exciting is that any school can rise to the top if their community rallies behind them,” Heather Owens, director of sales in California said. “Just a few extra votes could make the difference in bringing much-need $100,000 home to your school.”
Lower Lake High School is the only California school currently within reach of one of the $100,000 awards. The top 20 schools leading the campaign are posted weekly at participating U.S. Cellular stores and on the Web at www.uscellular.com/callingallcommunities.
Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Bill MacDougal is expected to attend Saturday”s event and plans to address the crowd around 1 p.m. Cellby, the U.S. Cellular mascot is also expected and will introduce visitors to new technology available to U.S. Cellular customers.
U.S. Cellular is the nation”s sixth-largest wireless carrier, serving 6.2 million customers across the country. To learn more about the company visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
