Staunton Star - Times - Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years

Staunton’s fourth annual PTO School Of Rock Fundraiser, held on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Concordia Hall, had its most successful event to date. The money raised directly benefits the students in a multitude of ways.

For example, just to name a few: funding field trips; reward incentives; classroom funding and supplies; teacher’s lounge supplies; trivia events for the jr. high; Fine Arts Day; and playground improvements.

As in years past, community support for the event was outstanding. From early in the evening, Concordia Hall was filled to capacity, and attendees stayed for the duration of the event. Music started at 5 p.m. with the Staunton High School a cappella group, The SHS Dynamics, as they kicked off the event. High school teacher, John Masinelli, performed an acoustic performance from 6 to 6:45 p.m. The area's newest classic rock band, Up To Eleven, took the stage from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The evening ended with music by Hashtag80 from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Food was sold, and attendance prizes were raffled off throughout the night. The best prizes were raffled off to lucky guests towards the end of the night which featured: Solo Stove; Google Home Hubs; a bird bath; Nest set; BBQ grill; Beats and Monster headphones; gift card tree; a scratch-off lottery ticket bundle; and many elaborate themed baskets donated by different grade levels and local businesses. This year’s event also featured a live auction for Blues and Cardinals ticket bundles.

The highlight of the night featured singing performances from Staunton teachers Tabitha Miller, Valene Carter, Brianna Bohlen, and JJ Kolesar. Students, parents, and guests filled the dance floor and sang along as each teacher, once again, gave a stellar performance to the packed house.

The Staunton PTO would like to thank Concordia Hall for their support in hosting the event for a fourth time. Another big thank you to all the volunteers who generously gave their time to make this event a success, as well as the musicians for donating their time and talent. Thank you to all the parents and teachers who donated to the themed baskets, which were instrumental in helping to raise funds. Finally, the PTO would like to thank the following individuals and businesses for their generous donations, which greatly helped to make this event a huge success:

Ageless Fitness of Staunton; Bank of Hillsboro - Staunton Branch; Mike Bellovich at RE/MAX Alliance; Bill’s IGA; Timothy Carter at Hudson Group Retail, LLC; Casey’s General Store on Bunker Hill Road; Duda Ace Hardware; El Indio; Elbon Shrine Club of Staunton; Flowers Distribution (7-Up & Dr. Pepper); Ben and Kendall Frank; Green Room Gaming - Brian Johnston; Little Italy’s Pizzeria; Brian Luketich; Macoupin Art Collective (The MAC); Shane Maguire of Max Maguire Sound; Main Station Liquor Store; Mayfield’s Landscaping; Jim and Cheryl McKay; Mississippi Culture; The Pasta House Co. in Edwardsville; Corey Painter at Robert “Chick” Fritz, Inc.; Austin Peterson; Rooster’s Pub; Danny Russell at Russell Furniture; Staunton Chiropractic - Dr. Jeffrey Roller; Staunton Food Mart; Sullivan Drug of Staunton; and Wernsing’s Appliance in Litchfield.