ORANGE PARK – S. Bryan Jennings Elementary celebrated its teachers with a barbecue meal for the whole family.

Assistant principal Debby Chapman said she and her fellow administrators wanted to do something for the school’s teachers to show that they were appreciated. Their first idea was a dinner with popcorn and a movie, and she reached out to local businesses like Coggin Automotive looking for donated contributions. Wayne Watkins, General Manager of Coggin Automotive, said he’d like to help but went a step further and said he’d like to smoke a BBQ meal not just for the teachers, but for their entire family as well.

“We were so excited by this man’s generosity,” Chapman said.

That’s approximately 50 teachers and more than 100 people that needed meals and Chapman said that Watkins did it all. He set up a smoking pit in the school’s parent pick up loop early that morning and smoked for hours to provide meals to teachers later that day on May 8. Chapman said administrators made signs showing their appreciation. The loop was lined with signs that said things like “thank you” and “we appreciate you.”

Chapman said it was important for the school to show its teachers currently stuck at home and away from their students that they’re still appreciated. She said this was the first time they’ve ever done anything like this for teachers because usually, teacher appreciation happens in-house but coronavirus forced the school to get creative.

“We had to get creative and that’s why we decided to do it like a drive-thru,” Chapman said. “We wore masks and maintained our distance.”

Chapman said the school had never worked with Watkins before. Watkins also has a long history of supporting athletics at Orange Park High with his large smoker, and he had five children that went through the Clay County School District system with some of them attending S. Bryan Jennings.

“He wanted to give back to the community,” Chapman said. “We’re very generous for such a thoughtful business partner that wanted to make our teachers feel as special as they are that day.”

S. Bryan Jennings is a Title 1 school so its funding is already low, which makes teacher appreciation more difficult since the budget just isn’t there, but Chapman said Watkins came to the rescue on that front with his smoked BBQ.

“I think it’s important to recognize the hard work and effort that our teachers give day to day,” Chapman said. “Especially now more than ever, our teachers are being appreciated for who they are and what they do.”