The Hastings Middle School has an extremely fun tradition as the school year comes to a close, a tug of war. The school does an annual fundraiser for Hastings Family Service and the two classes from each grade that raise the most money face each other in a tug of war. This year, they raised $5,097 for Hastings Family Service.
The event lasts about 50 minutes and is an absolute blast to witness. The kids and staff are high energy, they dress up in coordinated outfits, there is music and fun competition. There are multiple waves of competition starting with the two classes of each grade facing off. First, the girls from each class, then the boys. Once all of that is done, they do a co-ed head-to-head for each grade. The winner from each grade level then faces off against the other grades, with the ultimate winner taking on the staff.
Cheryl Fitzgerald-McNelis is one of the organizers of the event and she also plays the role of emcee. She gave us the rundown of what classes were involved for 2024.
“This year for fifth grade it was Mrs. Warner and Mrs. Lindquist-Peine, sixth grade was Mr. Kreuser and Mr. Hoffman, seventh grade was Mrs. Gustafson and Mr. Jim Hanson (also known as Social Hanson), and eighth grade was Ms. Schumacher and Mr. Jeff Hanson (also known as Math Hanson),” she said in an email.
The eighth-grade class taught by Ms. Schumacher won the student side of the competition and faced off against the staff. The first round, the students pulled out the win against the staff, but there was an official pause to the competition. The referees had a conference and decided the students had a big advantage, having nearly twice the bodies of the staff. The staff added a few to their side including a ringer, Superintendent Dr. Tammy Champa jumped on the rope and helped the staff pull out a 2-1 comeback against the students.
After the kids settled down a little, Hastings Family Service Director Amy Sutton shared a few words with the crowd. She explained that the tug-of-war is one of her favorite events because it shows that anyone in the community can make a big impact regardless of their age.
“We've been doing the tug of war since 2003, except for 2020 due to Covid. About 11 years ago, we realized our own community had a great need, so we decided to keep our donations local, and all money raised is donated to Hastings Family Service. We've raised just over $75,000 in those 11 years,” explained Fitzgerald-McNelis.
If you have a chance to go watch this wonderful event next year, do it. The entire thing is fun to watch and you see the community come together through our youth.
