West School first grade teacher Shannon Smith was in for quite the surprise Thursday as members of Lincoln University's Blue Tiger Quarterback Club and Blue Tigers team popped into her classroom bearing gifts.
She and her students each received Blue Tiger T-shirts, noisemakers and pompoms. Smith also was awarded $500 to be spent on classroom items. Smith was selected as teacher of the week after a student's mom wrote the nomination.
In all, there will be five winning teachers who, along with their respective students, will be guests at a sponsored tailgate party prior to the game.
Each teacher will be announced pre-game and named honorary captain after which they'll lead the team out onto the field.
There will be a winner named before each home game, and Smith and students will be at the game Sept. 28 as Lincoln takes on Pittsburg State at 2 p.m. All Jefferson City public and parochial elementary schools are invited to participate. The invitation extends to St. Elizabeth, California, Tipton and other neighboring elementary schools. Smith was overwhelmed by their generosity and said that act "just made my day."