East Lee County principal uses lemonade to create gameday tradition

Author: Zach Oliveri
Published: Updated:

When the East Lee County High School football team takes the field, you can find the school’s principal, Tony Allen, on the Jaguar sideline, cheering the team on.

“This is one of my dream jobs actually,” Allen explained. “I used to live in the area and I’d pass it when they first built it 15 years ago.”

When Allen became the principal, he wanted to change the culture.

“Try to change the atmosphere at the football games and add some traditions here at the school that we feel the students can respond to,” Allen said.

Allen’s answer, his lemonade recipe.

“I’ve been doing this for my church for a long time,” Allen explained. “I did it at a previous school as a fundraiser so I thought it would be fun to have here at East Lee County as well.”

With help from the culinary department, the lemonade is made every Friday morning before a home football game. Allen and his students showed how they make it. After they mix the water, lemons, limes, lemon juice and pink lemonade, it’s put in the fridge before bringing it back out at kickoff.

‘I think it’s sort of our way as a goodbye gift you know since we enjoy it, I believe that the upcoming seniors or the incoming freshmen or whoever is going to enjoy it as much as we do,” East Lee County senior Leina Reyes said.

Reyes is one of two students who make the lemonade weekly. The other is fellow senior Maira German.

The money raised through this tradition supports the students and teachers at the school.

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