Last December, Tamie Swanson, a first grade teacher at Baxter Elementary, passed away unexpectedly. This past Saturday, Ace Hardware in Brainerd held a teacher appreciation event to honor all that she did for her students.

The idea came about when Hal, her husband and a former manager at Ace, wanted to honor Tamie’s memory in some way. With all the money that she spent and teachers continue to spend on school supplies and other items for their classrooms, Ace decided to help out as well and put on a benefit for teachers.

They had many games on offer for people for people to play, and ways to donate to a good cause. If you bought $30 or more of items and rounded up in support of teachers, you could win a free gift.

While the kids were attempting to win free gifts, Ace had many sales going on inside the store along with a few free services. Some of the services included free chainsaw sharpening, mower blade, and free knife sharpening.

With many struggling financially, it’s important to know and see beyond our own needs and ask what we can do for others.

Ace Hardware will take the proceeds from the event and partner with Office Depot to help buy school supplies for students.

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