(Eads, Co) -- Eads High School junior Brianna Wilson joined crowds of local Kiowa county folk attending the annual Christmas event, Merry on Maine. Although, being a member and president of the FBLA team she had a pretty big job at her table.
"Part of our fundraiser is donations from businesses around town, so our officer team is responsible for reaching out to businesses to see if they would donate to us, so it's 100 percent profit on our end which is really nice."
Wilson says the money raised will also help the team with their community service project. The members made wreathes to sell to benefit the library. She elaborated that the library has been struggling and they wanted to help.
Wilson said another use for the money raised from silent auction items is to help the team fund the district leadership conference and the state leadership conference. The students compete in events that help them discover what they want to do with their lives, once it comes time to decide.
So, what does Wilson want to be someday? She told us that she's torn between a career in the STEM field, (Science Technology, Engineering, Math) or becoming an entrepreneur and being in business for herself.
The event Merry on Maine is now an annual event for the small Southeast Colorado town in Kiowa county. Organizers Matt and Claire Prince are some of the early organizers of the event. Matt works with the Colorado Pacific railroad and decided to bring Santa to town on the train. Dozens and dozens of kids lined up to tell Santa what they'd been wishing for this Christmas.
Claire said they held it in 2019 but in 2020 with Covid, they faced challenges. When the community held the event anyway, she furthered that it was sort of a Christmas miracle. She said everyone appreciated it. The event has grown larger every year. There are craft booths, fundraisers, a cornhole tournament, a talent show and a parade of lights.
The event is expected to be an annual event from here on.
If you'd like to be involved with the planning for next year's Merry On Maine, Claire mentions they start meeting in October.
(more photos are available on our social media site on Facebook. photos are property of Anne Boswell, and SECPA)