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‘A night of family fun’

Education

Written by Aaron Cedeño

Wednesday, 03 March 2010 09:00

What’s the secret to playing winning bingo?

Louisburg Middle School seventh-grader Kallee Tucker (right) scours her bingo cards as the numbers are called Saturday. Tucker and her friends weren’t frequent winners, but still had fun. (photo by Aaron Cedeño)

Well, that all depends on who one might ask. On Saturday night at Louisburg Middle School, however, the Caldwell family seemed to have successfully cracked the code. As each round passed, their hands flew into the air more than any other with a triumphant cry of “bingo” and a groan from the rest of the players, before the boards were cleared and the game began anew.

“It’s really a game of skill,” said Rodney Caldwell, smiling.

Of course, others in his party disagreed. Judy Kelly looked at the combined eight bingo cards she and her grandchildren had gathered in front of them, and revealed the true secret to winning.

“(Having) a lot of cards,” Kelly said.

The Caldwells were among hundreds of Louisburg residents to pack the gym at LMS Saturday night for the annual LMS Parent Teacher Student Organization Bingo Night. The event has grown in popularity during the past five years, said PTSO president Jenny Diederich, and this year was their biggest crowd ever. So many people showed up, in fact, that a section of bleachers had to be pulled out in order to provide sufficient seating.

The event was started with the intent of providing a fun family night out, Diederich explained, and they’ve managed to maintain that guiding principle every year since. While many PTSO events act as fund-raisers for the organization — which in turn uses those funds to pay for items such as class field trips and teacher classroom requests — Bingo Night isn’t about raising money. What the PTSO brings in at the gate, with bingo cards costing $5 each, ultimately keeps the event entirely self-sufficient.

The event couldn’t go off successfully without all of Diederich’s hard work, said fellow PTSO member Kerry Goff, and this year was certainly no exception.
Tables were packed, bursting with prizes, more than 350 at last count, and a host of big-ticket prizes were given away in random drawings; including such items as a flat-panel HDTV, a new iPod and gift cards from area businesses.

But it’s not the prizes that keep people coming back, Diederich said. It’s that the emphasis on family fun is appealing to all ages.

“It brings people out and have a good family night of fun,” she noted. “You’ve got kids here with their grandparents. There are two or three generations of families here.”

Indeed, those most enthusiastic about winning appeared to be some of the night’s youngest competitors. Each time bingo was called, call to the Master of Ceremonies for just “one more round” before cards were cleared would begin, usually led by a group of Louisburg Middle School students.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” said eighth-grader Kallee Tucker, when asked if she thought she’d be spending her Saturday night at school. “But it’s been a lot of fun.”
“At least we’re having fun in school,” chimed in seventh-grader Lilly Scott, laughing.

And fun, Diederich said, is what it’s all about.

“I think people are spending more time with their family, and it’s just a fun night out,” she said.

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