Barnhart Carries King of Hearts

By Ally Kerr, Reporter

   This year, senior Matt Barnhart collected the most donations for the King of Hearts Court drive and stole Susky’s heart.

   Every year there are ten senior boys on the ballot for being the King of Hearts, and whoever collects the most money, canned foods or clothing items will be crowned king.

The senior King of Hearts candidates and their escorts selfie before the pep-rally. Photo by Jake Smith.
The senior King of Hearts candidates and their escorts selfie before the pep-rally. Photo by Jake Smith.

   Barnhart is involved in many organizations at SHS, like National Honor Society, cross country, track and field and student council. He is also very involved in his church, Saint Jacob’s (Stone) United Church of Christ in Glenville.

   Saint Jacob’s holds a canned food drive every year, and each year they try to send the donations to a different place. This year, Barnhart was able to take the donations to SHS for the King of Hearts can drive.

  “My church was trying to figure out what charity we would send all of the cans to, and I remembered that we have the King of Hearts, so I just decided to take the cans to the school,” Barnhart said.

   Barnhart’s church also raises money, and this year his church was able to raise $275 which Barnhart put into the King of Hearts drive. Barnhart won with only a fraction of the donation he collected.

   “Since my church raised so much money, I distributed it across all of the candidates, so that they could all be able to walk, and then the extra money that I had Mrs. McCullough just gave it to me,” Barnhart said.

The 2016 King of Hearts candidates and their escorts patiently wait to see who is crowned king. Photo by Tracey Kerr.
The 2016 King of Hearts candidates and their escorts patiently wait to see who is crowned king. Photo by Tracey Kerr.

  According to Student Council representative Kellin McCullough, the King of Hearts can drive raised $692.08, donated a large truck of clothes to Goodwill, five large bags to the Avedium Closet in the middle school and boxes of canned goods for Southern Community Services.

  “It feels good to know that I raised and donated a lot to the community…the pep-rally went really well, and I think the minute-to-win-it games, lip-syncing battles, and the basketball contest were funny,” Barnhart said.

   Barnhart was crowned King on Thursday, February 11 during the King of Hearts pep-rally.