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From one school to another: North Central DECA delivers big boost to Spokane Guilds’ center

Representives from the the North Central High School DECA chapter, from left, students John Mitchell, Jacquie Egger, with DECA adviser Dempsey Ortega present a check for $4,830.03 to Spokane Guilds’ School with help from Ryland Anderson, (center,left) a former Guilds’ School client, and his brother, Kellar, on Wednesday, Feb 21, 2018. The DECA chapter raised the money from a magic show by professional “Thrillusionist” David Womach (stage name David DaVinci) at the school Dec. 6, 2017. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com(509) 459-5454

Students at North Central High School have given a big boost to the Spokane Guilds’ School and Neuromuscular Center.

Members of the DECA chapter at NC put on a magic show and collected $4,830 from ticket sales to the show in December.

That money was combined with proceeds from a penny drive by the NC business leadership class for a grand total of $7,265, said Melodie Little, of the Guilds’ School.

Last Wednesday, some of the students and their DECA teacher presented the school with one of those big ceremonial checks during a gathering at the entryway of the school at 2118 W. Garland Ave.

“One of our cornerstones is community service,” said Dempsey Ortega, an NC business instructor and DECA adviser.

Dick Boysen, executive director at the school, said he has been impressed over the years with the selflessness and dedication of the NC students that “gives me a lot of hope.”

Jacqui Egger, an NC senior, and John Mitchell, a sophomore, spearheaded the magic show, but they had a very important celebrity sponsor – “thrillusionist” David Womach, an NC alum who goes by the stage name of David DaVinci.

DaVinci, who has performed across the U.S. and in other countries, offered to put on the magic show for free on NC’s theater stage.

The show sold out at $10 a seat for a total gross of $5,060. After deducting a handful of staging expenses for the production, the rest was donated to the Guilds’ School.

“The Guilds’ School does so much,” Egger said.

She has a personal connection with the school through her mother, Andrea Egger, a speech and language pathologist who has worked with Guilds’ School children as they transition to public schools.

Mitchell also has a close connection to the school. When he was small he was unable to swallow food and had to be fed through a tube. He was treated at the Guilds’ School for about two years to overcome the eating problem and to speak well, he said.

Brianne Kosanke, 18, graduated from NC last year and is currently volunteering at the school. She is a former DECA chapter member and former member of the Guilds’ School student advisory committee.

“I got involved in my junior year and fell in love with the school,” she said.

Kosanke now mentors the NC students on the advisory committee.

DECA is a not-for-profit student organization that reaches all 50 states and seven other countries. Its programs emphasize business and entrepreneurial skills with cutting-edge technology.

The Guilds’ School last year treated a record 267 infants and toddlers for various types of developmental issues, including premature birth, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism, according to the school’s web site. One of its larger fundraisers is a well known penny drive.