The Smoky Valley Education Association and Smoky Valley Schools want to recognize members of the community who are making a positive impact on our students and district. Today, we are recognizing Maj-Britt Hawk and Susan Lundstrom.
Many years ago, Jay Steinberg and I got together with the Hyllningsfest committee and shared how overwhelmed we were with our costume bank. It had gotten so big. We didn't have time or the knowledge of how to go through it all. Do we pitch things? Do we try to find seamstresses? Many needed washed. Jay had some middle school parents go through them. Deb Watson took a big bag to a seamstress to work on. It was just so much! John Hawk was on the committee when we shared our concerns. I think he may have put a bug in his mom's ear.
Maj-Britt Hawk reached out to Lori Nelson a few years ago and asked if she and some ladies could mend, wash, and press the white shirts for our costumes. Lori and her husband Sean took all the tubs to her house that summer before Hyllningsfest. The next Hyllningsfest, Maj-Britt thought she and the other ladies could do all the costumes. Now, every summer before Hyllningsfest, we have a group of ladies that go through all 27 tubs (over 1,000 costume pieces!). They fix buttons, zippers, stitch tears, pitch when needed, and wash. They count them and take inventory, and add to them when donations come in. This summer, Susan Lundstrom came on board to help Maj-Britt with organizing this monumental task. She is also helping the PTO to organize the check out process at Soderstrom and SVMS.
When this group of ladies started helping with the costumes, Mrs. Nelson had several people tell her after the students were done dancing, how nice the costumes looked. It is ALL thanks to them. These ladies are an absolute blessing to all of the Hyllningsfest directors!