RISD’s See You at the Pole event wins local radio contest

Ask and it shall be given… Tyler Christian radio station 89.5 KVNE/91.3 KGLY challenged area school districts last week to see who could get the best turnout to the annual See You at the Pole event – and more than 200 students, staff and community members of Rusk Independent School District stepped up to be counted.

The station’s crew, Your Friend Fletch, Amy Austin and Nikki Martinez joined RISD’s event, held Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Rusk Junior High School campus and served donuts, pig-in-a-blankets, juice and water for breakfast to all students who attended the event.

“This is very uplifting,” sixth grader Monica Suarez said, as her bestie Liliana Rivera nodded in agreement.

Rivera added, “It helps make you feel good about things and reminds us to be nice to each other.”

RISD received 1078 responses, via the radio station’s website and Facebook, to win the radio station’s yearly challenge -- beating out LaPoynor, Beckville, Grand Saline and Martin’s Mill ISDs. Past winners include Bullard High School in 2017 and Brownsboro High School in 2016.

“We’re always super impressed that so many kids and family members rally around their school,” Martinez said as she supervised the breakfast table. “We absolutely could not make this happen without our crew members Fletch and Jill Smith. They’re the ones that really go the distance to pull this together.”

RJH Fellowship of Christian Students officers: eighth graders, Tucker Goff and Aden Burkhalter; seventh graders Kaitlyn Hardy and Nicole Burkhalter; and sixth graders Mckenna Whitehead and Brooklyn Carnegie emceed the event, which featured prayer circles and the option to write prayer requests on sticky notes and adhere them to a large cardboard cross.

“I love it – this is a very good way to help bring people together,” parent Jerry Aldridge said during the event. “Unfortunately, it seems like you don’t see that very often these days -- sign of the times, I guess – but I’m very warmed and uplifted by this.”

This year’s SYATP theme was “Broken” (from Ephesians 3:14), to emphasis students praying at their schools.

“This is the 28th anniversary for See You at the Pole, a student-initiated and student-led movement that started in Burleson, Texas, in 1990,” the event’s website, syatp.com, states. “SYATP brings students together to intercede for their leaders, schools, and families, asking God to bring moral and spiritual awakening to their campuses and countries.”

Eighth grader Trey Mallard said that sentiment is exactly what was on the forefront of his mind, as he participated in the prayer circles.

“This is important,” he said. “It’s all about Jesus and worship and that’s what we need to keep on our minds throughout the day.”
Rusk High School students and faculty and members of the Rusk Police Department also attended.