It was a game show, a rock concert, a pep talk, a school rally. And in the end it was the energetic and irreverent Lt. Gov. Brad Owen urging Wedgwood Elementary School students to be accepting of each other, find activities they love and celebrate our country for all of its diversity.
Billed as an anti-bullying assembly, Owen made it much more than that by having three student teams compete by answering a series of questions about famous personalities of color in U.S. history and by going into the audience and asking other students about times they’ve been bullied or harassed and the reasons why. Owen, who has held his office since 1996, does the work as part of his nonprofit group called Strategies for Youth.
Highlights of the show included Owen tossing bags of candy to students in the audience for correct answers and the multimedia aspects of his presentation, which included a big-screen slideshow and interludes of Owen, a grandfather of 17, jamming on electric guitar and singing such wide-ranging songs as Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B Goode,” Smash Mouth’s “Hey Now, You’re a Rock Star” and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”
It had to be one of the liveliest and most engaging assemblies at the school in a long time and Owen clearly was having a blast, as were the assembled students, teachers and parents.
