The Long Island Ducks visited Flower Hill Primary School this week to celebrate second grader Jeremy Romero Jaramillo, who was treated to a special day for his award winning entry in TD Bank’s “Take a Duck to Class” essay contest.
Mr. Jaramillo’s essay focused on why he considers Huntington Fire Department members to be community heroes. Flower Hill’s 350-plus strong student body participated in an assembly program in the school gym in honor of the second grader.
Following opening remarks by Long Island Ducks’ representatives, Mr. Jaramillo was given the floor. The youngster calmly read his essay to the crowd filling the gym. When he was finished, students and teachers responded with thunderous applause.
“They are my heroes because they rescue people and pets and always come to fires when they get called,” Mr. Jaramillo said. “They are brave. They break down doors and run into burning buildings to help people in need.”
Huntington Fire Department Assistant Chief Scott Dodge and ex-Chief Brian Riggs were on hand for the event. They thanked Mr. Jaramillo for thinking about them when writing the essay and later allowed him to try on part of their uniform and look over the fire truck they drove up to the front doors of the school.
Mr. Jaramillo was also presented with a Visa gift card by Eric Fishon, TD Bank vice president of U.S. field marketing and strategy and Rosalie Facciponti, TD Bank’s Huntington Station branch manager.
QuackerJack, the Long Island Ducks mascot was welcomed to Flower Hill by the students before heading back to Jeremy’s class for a private autograph and photo session. Mr. Jaramillo’s classmates were presented with gift bags, courtesy of TD Bank.
TD Bank “Take a Duck to Class” contestants submitted essays of up to 250 words last fall on the theme “Who is a hero in your community and why?” Mr. Jaramillo was one of four contest winners.
The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play their home games at Bethpage Ballpark. Visit www.liducks.com for more information about the team.
