Coronado Idol Rocks the Island with Record Support of $155,000
 
CORONADO – Coronadans of all ages joined in as performers and audience members for Coronado Idol, the 20th Annual Coronado Schools Foundation Telethon presented by Time Warner Cable last Wednesday night that broke all records for donations and viewer ship as record funds were raised to benefit the five public schools in the Coronado Unified School District.  “With our schools facing drastic budget cuts from Sacramento, seeing the community come forward to show their support both in the audience at the new Coronado High Theatre as well as the record number of returning and new donors who jammed the phone lines, it truly was a testament to our community’s support of public education,” commented an ecstatic Executive Director Patty Cowan.  “Bill Sandke continued his perfect Telethon attendance, returning from his family’s trip in Costa Rica to host the event with CHS Alum Jane Mitchell of Channel 4 and our CHS Senior Hosts,” she added. 

Since 1988 when the first Telethon took place on the sidewalk of Orange Avenue, Time Warner Cable's partnership has helped return over $1,000,000 to Coronado's public schools.  "While the final Team Tote Tally read $145,144, financial support for our schools has continued to pour in and we are now at a record $155,000," noted Foundation President Jeff Kob, who shared the Idol Judges Set as "Randy" with Toni "Paula" Aden and Tim "Simon" Irving.  "That surpasses last year's record of $118,000 by over 31%.  We look forward to returning record funding to our schools at a time when it is so needed and we appreciate the support of so many community members - Rotarians, Optimists, School Board and City Council, parents, administrators and teachers who worked the phone banks," he added. 

Many like Time Warner Producer Bill Putnam who produced the show with CSF Development Coordinator Kathleen Wakefield, commented on the growth of the Telethon, from a school to a community event, much like a talent show: “Parents were excited to see their kids on the BIG STAGE at CHS and on TV performing in a very fun event for a serious cause that was professionally produced.  At times there was bit of a "circus" feel with people coming and going and it was the first Telethon ever where we still had a large audience in the last hour with middle and high school kids came in to cheer their friends perform live in great groups like the Palm Percussion Duo and the NJROTC Beach Chair Drill Team.  When the Faculty Band performed for the last time and I looked up and saw a throng of school kids up front waving cell phones like we used to wave lighters at concerts, I knew this night was a huge success and the unprecedented donations correlated directly.” 

“When I was a student at CHS, I performed on the stage every chance I could get,” noted Linda Kullmann, CMS Teacher and Foundation Board Member.  “Singing with the first-ever Faculty Band brought me back home. What a better way than to take many of the talented musicians in our district, get together and play music, and raise money for our schools?  Just like each member in our band played an important part in its success, the bigger picture is how the community came out to support our kids, “she added.    

The new venue allowed the Foundation to make the most of the CHS Quad with high energy both outside as well as in the theatre.   “The action in the Quad was an event in itself, added an elated Sue Shirey, Telethon Writing Team Chair. “With kids singing and dancing on the Idol Stage, the Martial Arts America demonstration, the Senior Class burgers cooking, kids getting their faces painted by the CHS art students, it was truly a "concert in the park" for a cause and the level of participation revealed itself in the record breaking dollars we raised,” added Shirey. Roving Reporter Fred Eckert did a fabulous job of capturing some of the magic both outside in the Quad and at the remote location at the Beach-n-Diner.

“Our business partnerships certainly added to the success of the event and we trust our parents and community members will give back by frequenting the business owners who support our schools through CSF,” commented Telethon Chair Terry Farrelly.  Presenting Partner Time Warner Cable makes it possible for the event to be televised live on Channel 19 while Producing Partner Martial Arts of America joined the Telethon for the third consecutive year.  Returning Hour Partners Willis Allen, Hotel del Coronado, and Mootime/Beach-n-Diner/Village Pizzeria were joined by Business Products Express while returning Underwriting Partners Chicago Title, Wells Fargo, The Frensdorff Group, and Kraig Nicolls Design were joined by Dan Runyon of Beach House Real Estate. 

“We thank Adrian Gonzales and his crew at CHS for the Coronado Idol making the stage and lighting so professional and to Jean Pehrsson and her Creative Writing Class for adding their talents to the script,” added Cowan.  “And to our generous donors for the drawings from Scott Aurich and Manny Granillo for continuing the tradition of offering a surfboard to the KCMS class at CMS for the cool video scrapbook idea, and of course to Time Warner Cable for the many great packages,” said Cowan. 

Visit www.csfkids.org to view photos of the event. Donations benefitting Coronado’s public schools for the 2008-09 school year can be make online or by calling the Foundation offices at 437-8059. To order your DVD, send $20 to CSF at 201 6th Street by March 30th and note your child’s school and grade.   

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