Benson wins State Farm ‘Neighborhood Assist’ contest

The Benson community officially finished first in the State Farm Insurance “Neighborhood Assist” contest, and is one of the 40 $25,000 winners during the State Farm “Neighborhood Assist” contest.
“I received word today from State Farm that we were officially in the top 40, so we get $25,000,” said Roger Ebnet, a teacher at Northside School who initiated the application entry for Benson.  “At the close of voting, we were ranked No. 1.  That’s great news for our ball field.”
Benson was first selected as one of the top 200 finalists.  Of that number, the top 40 vote getters during two weeks of Facebook voting each received $25,000.Voting ran for three weeks through Friday, May 16 at midnight.
“Our proposal is in the safety category and deals with helping replace and/or repair as much baseball and softball fencing at the Northside Rec Area as possible,” Ebnet said.  “The fencing at the Northside Rec Area is steadily deteriorating.  The money will be used to replace as much of the fencing and backstop as possible on the city/school baseball fields.”
The Northside Rec Area is used by church league softball teams, youth traveling teams, high school baseball and softball teams, men’s league teams, and VFW, Legion, and Chiefs’ baseball games.
Photo:  Teacher Roger Ebnet has been involved in other fundraisers for Benson schools.  This picture shows a picture session with famous country singer Luke Bryan.