Clothes make the man?
Townsend officials will don dresses for good cause
Saturday
By: EMILY
RILEY/The News Journal
Posted: March 12, 2009
Townsend Elementary
School Principal Charles Sheppard has a big Saturday coming up. He'll be
loosening his tie, kicking off his loafers and slipping into something more
comfortable - a floral-print dress, to be exact.
Sheppard, in his
second year at the school, is a glutton for punishment. He voluntarily slept on
the school's roof last year as the prize for his students' success in the 2008
Principal's Reading Challenge, and this year's contest raised the stakes for the
students as well as for Sheppard.
"Based on last
year's goal of 1,000 points, we blew it out of the water pretty quickly,"
Sheppard said. "This year's goal was to get 1,500 points, and I didn't think
they were going to make it. But they scored over half their points in the very
last week."
The contest ran
during the month of February and challenged the school's first- through
fifth-graders to accumulate points based on the books they read and their scores
on tests about them. Once again, Sheppard allowed the students to decide his
fate.
"The three choices
were dying my hair pink or purple, wearing a costume or wearing dresses," he
said. "The dresses won three-to-one, and I guess wearing a costume would have
been the easiest, but it's all in the spirit of what the kids
wanted."
Taking things a step
further, Sheppard will use the flashy garb during several appearances around
town on Saturday to raise money for the 2010 Principal's Reading Challenge.
Members of Townsend's School Business Partners, including Friendly's and Pretzel
Boys, will donate portions of their sales that day to the school's
library.
Ensuring that shoes
and handbags don't clash Saturday is Helen Kimmey, education chairwoman for the
Townsend Women's Club. Kimmey's role in the school community is not limited to
fashion consultation, but she does have big plans in store for
Sheppard.
"I've just got some
old dresses, some muumuus and a pair of bell-bottom red pants," Kimmey said. "I
also have a Mardi Gras necklace with bright pink flamingoes, too. We want it to
be comical -- it's not going to be a fashion show."
Joining in the
festivities is Shane Rifenburg, administrative intern and Sheppard's
assistant.
The final member of
Saturday's glam squad is Townsend Mayor David Raughley, a self-described
"fun-loving guy" who volunteered to share the stage even before he knew heels
and glitter would be involved.
"When I heard that
he camped out on the roof last year, I was jealous because I didn't get to do it
too," Raughley said. "Anytime we can fundraise for a local school I'm all for
it. Plus, if I can earn the students' praise and respect by dressing up, that's
fine too."
Photograph: Townsend Elementary School Principal Charles
Sheppard models one of the dresses he'll wear Saturday to reward his pupils and
raise money for books.
Photographer: The News Journal/BOB
HERBERT
