COVID-19 took away Greene County High School’s traditional method of honoring its seniors, but four student-athletes were surprised to receive prestigious awards Tuesday afternoon. Activities Director Todd Gordon made arrangements to surprise Bernie Saggau Award recipient Will Hansen, Female Ram of the Year Izzy Bravard, and Male Ram of the Year Carter Morton. He contacted their parents and made arrangements for a small group of teachers and coaches to join him in presenting the awards. None of the three had any idea what was coming.

Ellie Madson did know she was going to receive a plaque from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union for being the schools’ nominee for the E. Wayne Cooley Scholarship. However, she was in the midst of taking a Statistics class final online when Gordon and others showed up at the driveway of her home. She said she totally forgot about the award. Gordon also presented her a scholarship certificate from St. Anthony Regional Hospital, which was a surprise to her.

Morton was working at Jefferson Community Golf Course when he was summoned. A First Responders truck from the Jefferson Fire Dept. was used to transport Gordon to and from. Morton said he saw the fire truck close to his car in the parking lot and hoped his vehicle wasn’t on fire. It wasn’t!

Hansen and Bravard were at their homes and were also surprised as everyone kept the secret.

Gordon said he was really happy how all the presentations turned out. “It was great to see the smiles on their faces and to see how surprised they were,” he told Raccoon Valley Radio.