Wishes were granted for a handful of Benton Grade School students Tuesday night at the Benton Elks Lodge.
Micah Hopkins, Deacon Morris, Nicole Shepard, Brad Veteto and Breanna Wright — along with their siblings and parents — were treated to a pizza party and a surprise visit from Santa Claus.
The students’ letters to Santa were selected from those written by all BGS students. Every letter will be published in the Christmas Eve edition of The Benton Evening News on Dec. 24.
The Wishes Granted program was sponsored by Flowers by Dave, Town & Country True Value Hardware, the Times Square Mall and the Benton Elks.
Surprise and glee were among the emotions shown by the children and their family members as they unwrapped presents delivered by Santa.
“A firetruck!” Veteto exclaimed.
“It’s iCarly — you love iCarly!” Wright’s mother, Sherry, said to her daughter with a smile.
Even “Clothes!” were accepted with enthusiasm: “New shoes — new boots. I needed those!” Morris shouted.
Misty Fultz dropped to her knees when her daughter, Shepard, received her big present: an electric Disney Princess car.
“I’ve never had anything like this happen before — I’m crying like a big baby,” Fultz said. “Two Christmases ago, she asked for this present, but I didn’t think we’d ever be able to afford it.”
The family has been staying with neighbors, Fultz said, after carbon monoxide was detected recently in their home.
“I was extremely excited just to see the kids’ reactions,” BGS teacher Courtney Poole said. “I watched Brad put his list together. It was fun to watch the excitement as he developed his list, and to see the anticipation, the reward.”
Santa hugged all the children before heading out on his merry way in preparation for what will undoubtedly be a busy week leading up to Christmas.
“Don’t forget the cookies and milk, please!” he said before parting.
