By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores, Inc. turned 60 years old in January. The convenience store chain that got its start in Watonga, Okla. is sharing the love with communities across the United States. Each Love's store was asked to nominate a local school to receive a $6,000 grant to celebrate the 60th anniversary. Beth Rein, principal at Riley Elementary in Great Bend, was surprised and honored to receive the grant.
"Edna Sanchez is the manager of the Love's store, which is just down the street from Riley," Rein said. "She was a former student and her two kids go there. She just wanted to do something to better the school and thought of us to nominate."
Riley Elementary has some of the oldest playground equipment among the Great Bend schools, and the playground is prone to flooding. The $6,000 will go toward playground improvements. The school will create a sixth-grade leadership team to help determine how to use the funds.
"Of course, $6,000 isn't going to get us great big, huge equipment, but some new playground balls and there are lots of really cool playground games out there now," said Rein. "They can have some ownership in what's going to make their recess time better."
Love's is the only family-owned major travel stop in North America and Europe. The chain has 637 locations in 42 states and nearly 40,000 employees.