The perfect reward
How much is not missing a single day of school worth?
To senior students from more than 20 Spokane area high schools, perfect attendance is worth about $20,987; the sticker price of a brand new Hyundai Tiburon.
One lucky recently graduated high school student will have a chance to win the sports car Sunday at the Spokane Indians Baseball home opener game against Everett at Avista Stadium.
“We realized there are always scholarships for the very academic students, and for the athletically gifted students, but what about the kid that goes to school everyday, and does OK?” said Denny Waltermire, the president of Hallmark Hyundai, the auto dealership giving away the car.
Hallmark Hyundai created the “It’s Cool to Stay in School” program last year in an effort to get senior students to stay in school their last year. The auto dealer invited all high schools within a 100-mile radius of the dealership on East Sprague Avenue. Only 21 signed up, Waltermire said.
“It’s open to any high school student (at participating schools) with perfect attendance during their senior year of school,” Waltermire said. “That is the only qualification.”
The car – a bright yellow two-door with a 2.7-liter V6 engine – is “fully loaded,” Waltermire said.
It has a sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, dual chrome-tipped exhaust, fog lights, and a Kenwood car stereo with compact disc and MP3 player.
“The kids just love it,” Waltermire said. “If I was still in school, it would have kept me going. I would have tried harder if this was the payoff.”
Waltermire said they park the car at various high schools throughout the year, so the students can see what’s at stake.
“It’s the juniors that get really excited about it,” Waltermire said. “They know they have a goal for next year.”
Because the number of students with perfect attendance was still trickling in Monday, Waltermire didn’t have an exact count of the number of students eligible to be in the drawing.
Those students will be invited to the game Sunday, where seating has been reserved for them. The drawing will take place before the fireworks scheduled for after the game.
The car is free, but the winner will have to pay all taxes, license and fees, Waltermire said.