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Paragon Grants its Fifth Wish in Five Years

11-09-09

Paragon National Bank recently partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the MidSouth for the fifth year in a row to grant the wish of a child.

Paragon employees volunteered their time and resources to create a spectacular fall festival and haunted house for Chase.  He arrived at Paragon’s Fountain Place location believing he had simply been invited to a Halloween party, and walked into the building to find that the party was actually for him!

The first stop on Chase’s wish party was face painting, followed by a stop at The Chase Café, where he and his family were invited to enjoy fall festival fare including candy apples, hot dogs, popcorn, and “dirt” cake.  Next Chase and his two brothers moved on to Bobbing for Donuts, where donuts were hanging by strings and each boy had to attempt to eat the donut using only their mouths.  Although it was difficult, Chase emerged victorious, winning his first prize…an Alvin & The Chipmunks DVD! 

Next, he moved on to the Harvest Toss, where he and his brothers were encouraged to throw beanbags through a small hole.  Chase proved very adept at the Harvest Toss, and his winning toss earned him a visit from Rockey the Redbird, the mascot for his favorite team, The Memphis Redbirds!  Rockey presented him with a gift bag full of goodies, courtesy of The Memphis Redbirds, before posing for photos with the family.

After the Harvest Toss, Chase and his brothers were chased by “zombies” and with no other escape, they had to run to the haunted house, where they were greeted by a table full of “body parts,” including eyeballs, brains, guts, and a monster head.  Then they were terrified and thrilled by the other horrors of the spectacular haunted house, but they finally made it out and were guided back to Paragon’s lobby, where Chase saw Minnie Mouse wandering around.  Banners were released saying that Chase had been granted his wish to go to Disneyworld!  He was given several gifts including more DVDs, a personal DVD player and case, a book, and a journal. Before Chase and his family said goodbye, Rockey the Redbird treated everyone to an impromptu dance to the Michael Jackson classic, “Thriller.” 

“Being a part of such a huge moment in a child’s life is immeasurably precious to us,” Robert Shaw, Paragon’s President and CEO said.  “We’ve helped grant a wish for a deserving child every year since our opening and it’s always so rewarding.” Paragon plans to continue the tradition of a wish-granting each fall and other partnership opportunities with Make-A-Wish throughout the year.

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