The Sandy Erickson is an annual race to help earn money for students in need of a Christian Education. This year was the 12th annual race held on Nov. 5 at 11:00 and over $101,892.25 was earned, which is $1000 more than last year. The race was named after Mrs. Sandy Erickson who taught first grade at CA for more than 20 years. She loved her students immensely and even after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs’s disease kept her loving and cheerful spirit.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the Sandy Erickson is the carnival booths. Class officers, 8th grade, fine arts, and sponsors around the community join CA at 10:00, to set up a tasty or game filled booth for anyone to enjoy while awaiting the race to begin. A few of the most popular booths included the Marriage booth run by the Seniors and the Jail booth run by 8th grade. Students would find themselves married or in jail, but if they were lucky they might’ve just gotten to appreciate the chance to win a fun prize or eat some delicious food from surrounding booths. Live music was also a lively aspect of the Sandy Erickson. This year, Dr. Todd Hold and his one-of-kind band performed for those just catching a snack while entertaining themselves at the booths, or for those who enjoy a free Sunday Concert. 

Each year, the t-shirt for the Sandy Erickson is designed by a student at CA. Mrs. Erickson themed her first grade classroom with hot air balloons for many years and this is why each year the t-shirt design weaves in the different varieties of hot air balloons. This year, Atira Leads (12) designed a cute, colorful hot air balloon design.

There were 572 5k runners and 103 fun run racers that ran this year. 29 volunteers signed up as well as the regular class officers or those helping out with a fine art booth. Whether students ran the race or just hung out with their friends while visiting all the entertaining booths, the Sandy Erickson race is a great opportunity to support Christian education and the CA community. 

Congratulations to the 1rst place winners overall in the high school, Cooper Tracy (11) and Sydney Hayes (10) and to those who placed high in the high school included Savannah and Madeline Massengill (9), and Jacob Petersen (11).