Powerade ‘Powers Up’ Delcambre High with $10,000 check

Published 6:00 am Friday, May 3, 2019

As far as the Delcambre High School students knew, it was just another pep rally.

They filed into the school’s gym, taking their seats as the lunch hour commenced. Marketing personnel from the Coca-Cola Company were on hand, tossing out free Powerade and tiny football tchotchkes to the crowd. All in all, it was a carnival-like atmosphere on a beautiful day.

Social Studies teacher Emily Soirez called the gathering to order, taking the wireless mic to be heard over the crowd and introducing Gerry Ivey, the regional business development manager for Coca-Cola.

“We held a competition for students to tell us how they wanted to power up their schools,” Ivey said. “And when we got all of those videos, there was one that really caught our attention.”

The lights went down, and the video students at Delcambre High created began to play on the screen. It showed students working in the school’s weight room, then cut to the students drinking Powerade. When the scene cut back, they were revitalized, lifting more and looking focused.

Then there were skits emphasizing the poor lighting in the hallways, the lack of updated science lab equipment and the need for more band instruments. In each case, Powerade came to the rescue.

After the video, Ivey and Coca-Cola Marketing Manager Javier Presas brought the students to their feet with a giant check for $10,000.

“We had 200 entries from across the region,” Presas said. “Only one school in Acadiana won the grand prize of $10,000.”

This is the seventh year for the Powerade Power Your School program, in which student athletes and their coaches submit videos and essays demonstrating their school’s needs. Winning schools receive anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 to preserve playing fields and make other improvements.

Soirez was one of the few people who knew the school had won one of the grand prizes.

“When Gerry (Ivey) told me about the contest, I got together with some of my seniors,” she said. “They were excited and started talking about the weight room, the lights, and other things they wanted to do. Then they brainstormed some ideas and came up with our video.”

Delcambre High School Principal Chantel Helms was ecstatic. 

“It was awesome,” Helms said. “Back in November, we hadn’t heard anything, then in January a representative of Coca-Cola came and told me we had won. I kept it a secret for a month, then I told Emily. She’s kept it a secret since then.”

Nationwide, Presas said there were 51 grand prize schools, 10 of those in Louisiana. Another 44 Louisiana schools won $2,000 first prizes.