At the February 17th school board meeting, Malone Elementary and Malone Intermediate schools were presented with a check for $4,224 that was raised through proceeds from an Afton Apple corn maze last fall. The monies will support the purchase of flexible seating in the two schools. In attendance and representing the business were Sarah Parkos and her mother, Cindy Femling who also matched the $4,224 donation to utilize for the district’s Angel Fund, which assists students who may be in need of school supplies, meals sent home over the weekends, or even transportation.

Sarah described the innumerable challenges the family- run business faced in 2020 and an especially tough year for the Afton Apple family. “Not only did the pandemic hit over the winter, on May 26th, the anniversary of our 31st year of our family owning and operating Afton Apple, we lost my dad, Farmer Frank.” The unexpected circumstances continued to show up.

June- Implemented new COVID guidelines almost daily, in order for us to open for strawberry season. Our business was considered essential, so with new protocols in place, we were allowed to open. We were unsure if families would be comfortable with the pickyour- own produce, but we found that everyone was excited to be able to get outside!

July – We were no strangers to Mother Nature’s wicked storms when an EF1 tornado ripped straight through our corn maze and apple orchard! We decided we would do our best to work with the mangled-up corn stalks and destroyed bridges to make it into the maze we look forward to every year!

August – Incorporated even more changes to be able to open for our fall sunflower, raspberry and apple season. Due to restrictions, we did not have as many extra activities as we normally have, but families didn’t seem to mind. We were grateful to be open, harvest our crops and enjoy families spending time together safely, enjoying Mother Nature at her finest.

September – Opened our 15-acre corn maze! We chose the corn maze theme to remind us to slow down, a very fitting theme for 2020 – Live in the Moment. Carved in the maze were images of my dad, a race car, an apple tree and my dad pushing his granddaughter on a swing – just a few simple reminders that when we slow down a bit, we notice that the little things are actually the big things.

“What resonated with us this year is that change is constant. In a matter of a few days, teachers created off-campus learning activities with just enough flexibility to support all types of students. I wasn’t sure how we could pull off learning from home, but soon realized that learning could happen just about anywhere!”

Sarah and the Afton Apple family hosted a variety of public service events demonstrating gratitude for their loyal customers: public safety weekends, food shelf donations, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and more.

“Over the past four years of hosting fundraisers, we have been honored to have donated just shy of $21,000. We have some amazing kids in our community and we know that investing in our students is fundamental for the future. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for choosing to support local businesses, and never forget to live in the moment,” stated Sarah.

Before and after shots of the Afton Apple corn maze after a torndo ripped through it.