Payson Roundup

Photo by Andrew Fiala

Students from Payson High School enjoyed a Diamondbacks game during High School Blood Drive Challenge night presented by United Blood Services. The school recently achieved platinum status after holding a blood drive earlier in the year. Sara Andersen, Ally Ericksen, Colton Ludtke, Ian Bloomfield, Clayton Duhamell, Kierstin Mock and James Potvin enjoyed the reward.

It was a fun-filled night for a group of Payson High School students who went to the Valley Tuesday to watch a Diamondbacks game.

Most of the students were members of either the Key Club or student government enjoying the reward for their efforts during the school’s bi-annual blood drives.

For the second year in a row, Payson High School obtained platinum status with United Blood Services for exceeding its blood donations quota. Earlier this year, the school held its first blood drive and surpassed its goal of 60 donations by 40, said STUGO sponsor Shelly Camp. Camp predicted during their second blood drive on Thursday they would meet their goal of 60 donors.

“The town gets behind it and the students and staff support the program and see the importance of it,” Camp said.

United Blood Services donated 12 tickets to the game and even though the home team lost by a point to the Cincinnati Reds, the students ended up enjoying the game and the opportunity to be on the jumbo screen in front of 20,000 other fans.

It was toward the end of the game when the camera finally flashed to the student section, which just happened to be at the top of the stadium. The students jumped for joy, flexed their muscles and cheered for Payson.

Chaperone and physics teacher Andrew Fiala even got in on the fun giving the students an impromptu physics lesson in paper airplane building. After a furry of building, planes went shooting off the third tier and into the crowd below.