MCCU’s Marshall High School Student-Run Branch Makes Debut with Golden Ticket Promotion

There’s no doubt – times are tough with the state of the economy and that’s exactly why Marshall Community Credit Union Financial Education Coordinator Laura Van Dyke was so excited to run a promotion for the opening week of the Marshall High School (MHS) Student-Run Branch.

Van Dyke, with the help of student tellers, Lanie Coddens and Hailee-Mae Eldred, built the promotion around the classic movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, creating Willy Wonka Golden Tickets, and hiding them in various location at the high school. To generate a buzz, flyers were placed throughout the school and at the MHS Student-Run Branch.

A special announcement was made on Sept. 14, giving the location of the tickets – two were hidden under classroom chairs and one in a randomly selected mailbox for a staff member.

“The most rewarding part of the promotion was hearing that the students would come down to the office or ask their teachers if they knew where the tickets were hidden,” said Van Dyke of the promotion. “Lanie and Hailee-Mae had classmates ask for clues or hints - which tells us our marketing efforts worked.”

The lucky winners were students Diara Burch and Ella Wilson, and Guidance Counselor, Andy McCormack. “The ticket is awesome because it’s a free $100 dollars and I was the lucky one,” said Burch of her winnings. To redeem their Golden Ticket, the winners had to visit the MHS Student-Run Branch, which is open to all students and staff during lunch hours on Friday throughout the school year. “MCCU’s goal for the Student-Run Branch is to promote financial learning and provide a convenient location for students to do their banking, all while having some fun,” said Van Dyke. “With the success of this promotion, we definitely accomplished our mission.”

“We have a unique opportunity to take the success of this promotion and turn it into a larger scavenger hunt while incorporating financial learning, which is the main goal of the Student-Run branch program,” said Van Dyke.

When asked if she knew of more tickets being hidden in the school for the remainder of the 22/23 school year, Van Dyke said “no comment.”