Famous First 100 event rolls into town
Article and photos by Lynn Zahorik
A rewarding day of community service brought strangers, friends and families together for a great cause and yielded a free year of Chick-fil-A meals for each participant.
In the wee hours of the morning on the first day of spring, Chick-fil-A devotees anxiously stood in line outside of the fast food restaurant. They were hoping to have the chance to be a part of the “First 100 Road Trip.” In celebration of the opening of its second Castle Rock restaurant, Chick-fil-A hosted this signature event, which invites 100 local residents to experience a day of community service for several organizations. At the end of the day, the participants are awarded a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A #1 sandwich meals for their efforts.
“It was a rare opportunity to be involved with a Chick-fil-A tradition,” said Claire Zahorik, who embarked on the day at 6 a.m. with her mom.
Attendees were greeted in the parking lot by an enthusiastic team of Chick-fil-A employees from across the United States. They were treated to a delicious breakfast of chicken biscuits before boarding charter buses for their road trip of community service in Castle Rock. Joe Weber, local franchise owner and operator since 2008, joined the group on their journey to give assistance to the organizations that his family and staff have supported for years.
Their first stop was the Help & Hope Center, where volunteers assisted in the food bank, thrift store and with gift packaging for the Senior Activities Center. Next, the group traveled to the Burgess and Butterfield community pools and Miller Activity Center where they worked together to prepare the facilities for the upcoming summer season.
Spirits were high as the group took a break for a fun-filled lunch of, you guessed it, Chick-fil-A sandwiches. In the afternoon, the participants set out on a Walmart scavenger hunt to collect supplies for donation to the Denver Dumb Friends League, Read to Me Foundation and the Help & Hope Center.
After a rewarding day of service throughout Castle Rock, the “First 100 Road Trip” participants celebrated and received their gift cards personally from Weber for 52 free chicken sandwich meals.
Several 80108 residents enjoyed the day of serving in their community.
Rick Martin found the day to be quite meaningful and time well spent. “It was a great opportunity to get to know organizations within our community and how we can better serve in the future,” said Martin.
The Chick-fil-A sponsored day of volunteering is what initially attracted Lynette Kramer to the event. “I’m really impressed by how much Chick-fil-A gives back to the community,” said Kramer. “Getting the free meals was a bonus as my son and friends go to Chick-fil-A at least once a week. I was excited to give him the free meal card.”
For many, this was not a first-time affair. Jamie Hambly’s family of four had previously participated in two other “First 100” events that were actually 24-hour camp outs.
Chick-fil-A at Promenade officially opened its doors to the eager community on March 21.
