Two Shawano children meet gold(en) standard

Many children try to be good, but in Shawano, two of them are now considered golden.

Twig’s Beverage announced its first-ever Golden Girl and Golden Boy on June 1 at Sun Drop Dayz, with Ramona Meidam and Casey Johnson taking those titles for the next 12 months.

More than 30 fourth-grade students applied in the contest, according to Jaime Lee, who created the contest. The Sun Drop spokesmodel wanted to provide the opportunity for children to pursue their dreams and for her to work with them to be even better than they are now.

“We had many applications,” Lee said during the presentation. “We were looking for one Golden Boy and one Golden Girl to represent our beloved soda company, and we were looking for family values, hometown values, kids that love to give back to their community and that had a dream. It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you come from, you can make your dreams come true right here in Shawano.”

Lee said Meidam and Johnson’s applications really stood out. Meidam’s in the fourth grade at Sacred Heart with the dream of being a paleontologist. She’s the daughter of Virginia and Jed Meidam.

“She helps her neighbors,” Lee said. “She’s always kind and helps her new teacher, who is from a different country. She’s always giving a smile to her friends and family members and has beautiful red hair.”

Johnson is a fourth-grade student at Olga Brener Intermediate School who dreams of being a professional athlete. His parents are Jake and Katie Johnson.

“He helps his teammates, is always positive and encouraging, and he helps his family,” Lee said.

Meidam and Johnson will both receive a year’s supply of Sun Drop and get to ride in the Sun Drop limousine for the Shawano Santa Parade in December. The pair will work with Lee on a variety of projects in the next year showcasing Sun Drop.

“I’m really excited,” Meidam said. “Ever since I was 3, I loved dinosaurs and I watched every single ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘(Jurassic) World’ movie, and I just dreamed of seeing what’s out there and digging up dinosaur fossils and seeing what they are and how I can learn about them.”

“I’m kind of happy,” Johnson said. “I’m a baseball and basketball player just because they are my favorite, and I always grew up to be a basketball player, because my brothers were, and they inspire me.”

Meidam said she was “very, very excited” about getting the year’s supply of Sun Drop.

“I love the flavor, and I love how they make it,” she said. “This is one thing my whole family is excited about because it’s Sun Drop. When I was entering, they said, ‘If you win, I want that Sun Drop.’”

Johnson, when asked the same question, responded with an answer of giving.

“I’m kind of excited because I get to drink it with my family,” he said.

For those children that didn’t make the cut, there will be a consolation prize in the form of a pizza party at a later date, according to Lee. However, she’s confident the children selected will go far in the next year.

“Above all, they are kind, they are sweet and they want to give back to this community,” Lee said.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com