The Power of a Thank You

When we sat down with our NASCAR driver, Kasey Kahne, prior to the start of the season, we told him about Thank A Million Teachers and our mission — not only to thank one million teachers, but also give $1 million in educational funding. His immediate response was “That’s really cool. I remember a lot of my teachers who had a positive influence on my life and helped me get to where I am today.” That was all we needed to hear from Kasey. From there, we set plans in place — to change our blue Farmers car to a black chalkboard style theme honoring our nation’s educators, who, like our agents, believe in protecting dreams and helping people plan for the future. But we, along with Kasey, wanted to do more than just place a new logo on the car. In March, Kasey flew back to his hometown, Enumclaw, Wash., to personally thank the teachers at his elementary school and share with the students the importance of education and the influential role teachers play in all our lives. Even better, Kasey surprised his former principal, Jake Thomas, and Jake’s daughter, a deserving teacher at the school, with a trip to see him race in May. As it was important to leave the school better than we arrived, Farmers made a donation for a very much desired reading garden. Watch a recap of Kasey’s visit to his school at ThankAMillionTeachers.com. As May is National Teacher Appreciation Month, we sent Kasey on a Thank A Million Teachers tour with school visits in Birmingham, Kansas City and Charlotte. Each time, we surprised a deserving teacher with a VIP race experience and helped the school with some much needed funding. Our last visit in North Carolina was extra special. We honored a civilian teacher in the National Guard — a perfect tie of educational and military support as we headed into the Memorial Day weekend. You could feel the excitement in every school of having a famous NASCAR driver come to visit. Students decorated the hallways, welcoming Kasey and Farmers. And the cheers were deafening as Kasey made his way onto the stage. But while everyone was fixated on listening and watching Kasey tell stories about his memories of school and his current day job of racing fast cars on the track, I chose to look around the gymnasiums. No matter which school we visited, I saw the same thing — a sea of smiles. Teaching is an under-appreciated, under-paid job, that requires patience, dedication and commitment. From visiting these schools and talking with teachers, it is clear that every teacher gains personal satisfaction knowing they’re helping to shape and mold the lives of their students. As one educator said, “Seeing the students blossom is the most rewarding part of my job.” So when I looked around and saw all those teachers with huge smiles, I then realized the true power of a “thank you.” It’s such a simple gesture, but too often goes unsaid. In our fast-paced world where we are consumed with technology, what would happen if we just stopped ... and said “thank you”? And with that, it’s only fitting to end in that fashion. Thank you Kasey for embracing our mission to thank one million teachers. Thank you to everyone who has joined us in thanking more than 600,000 thus far on ThankAMillionTeachers.com. And most importantly, thank you to all the teachers. I admire you all for what you do and how much you give to our children and the future of our nation. Leslie Withoft Director of Sponsorships Farmers Insurance