Farmers Insurance, Kasey Kahne honor educators at Southwood Elementary School

ENUMCLAW, Wash. – As part of the Farmers Insurance “Thank A Million Teachers” national initiative, Kasey Kahne visited his childhood school Southwood Elementary today and honored former Principal Jake Thomas and fourth-grade teacher Jody Emerson with a heartfelt “Thank You” in front of hundreds of excited students.

During the visit, Farmers Insurance and Kahne surprised Thomas and Emerson by inviting them to be Kahne’s guests at the Sunday, May 4 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Thomas and Emerson will get behind-the-scenes access and get an insider’s view of Kahne in his unique and highly-competitive work environment.

Also during Thursday’s visit to Southwood, Farmers Insurance and the Kasey Kahne Foundation announced matching donations to the school to help fulfill the students’ dream of planting a reading garden. As a result of the donations, the garden will be named the Kasey Kahne Reading Garden planted by Farmers Insurance.

“We are thrilled to have Kasey’s support of the 2014 ‘Thank A Million Teachers’ initiative,” said Randy Rice, National Manager of Education Programs for Farmers Insurance. “Farmers believes in smart. We provide award-winning training to agents and employees so they can help consumers make smart insurance decisions. In a similar way, teachers play an integral role in helping children learn, grow smarter, and plan ahead. We are excited to provide America with a platform to share their ‘thanks’ with educators and honor teachers with funding to continue doing what they do best — positively impacting the minds of our future leaders.”

“I had a really nice time visiting my elementary school today and seeing my former principal, Mr. (Jake) Thomas. I really enjoyed interacting with all the students at Southwood, and it was fun being able to visit my hometown of Enumclaw. It definitely brought back a lot of great memories,” Kahne said. “Teachers play such an important role in helping students pursue their dreams so I’m proud to be a part of Farmers’ ‘Thank A Million Teachers’ program. It’s great being able to show our appreciation towards these amazing teachers who have positively influenced our lives.”

“We are grateful to Farmers Insurance and Kasey Kahne for their support of all of the teachers and students at Southwood Elementary,” said Susan Arbury, principal of Southwood Elementary. “Their visit today is an important reminder of how teachers help make students smarter and how they help students plan for their futures. On behalf of our teachers and students, I would like to personally thank Farmers and Kasey for their support of teachers and education programs through the ‘Thank A Million Teachers’ program.” 

With nearly 300,000 teachers across the United States already recognized since the “Thank A Million Teachers” campaign was launched just a few short weeks ago, Farmers Insurance is far ahead of its stated goal to Thank a Million Teachers in 2014, the insurer announced last week.

As part of the “Thank A Million Teachers” initiative, Farmers has been urging America to thank teachers, past and present, for the positive impact they have had in communities across the nation. Farmers has invited teachers to submit proposals for $2,500 grants on the www.ThankAMillionTeachers.com website. During March, Farmers is inviting the public to vote on the proposals, with 30 winners to be announced in April. In all, Farmers has committed to donating $1 million to teachers and education programs in 2014.

For more information about Farmers Insurance’s “Thank A Million Teachers” initiative, or to personally thank one or more of your favorite teachers, visit www.ThankAMillionTeachers.com today.