23-04-2025
Altoona Elementary teacher gets surprise award from Brewers' 'famous racing sausages'
ALTOONA — The Milwaukee Brewers' famous frozen racing sausages found themselves out of the ballpark on Tuesday, as the quintet paid a visit to Altoona Elementary School to honor a local teacher.
Kids in the gymnasium who met all five of the sausages screamed with excitement to hear one of their teachers named as a recipient of the Grand Slam Teacher Award: third-grade teacher Alayna Deignan. Altoona staff and the Brewers kept it a secret until they met with the school that morning.
'It was a super shocking surprise, but it feels very good,' Deignan said. 'I am just very humbled to know that all of my hard work as a teacher has paid off and is recognized by others. And I am a lifelong Brewers' fan; I even have a dog named Bernie.'
Rick Schlesinger, president of business operations for the Brewers, said their tour to Wisconsin schools started a few months ago in Madison and Green Bay, as now they find themselves in Eau Claire County.
'The goal is to eventually, over several years, go to all 72 counties, bringing the sausages, bringing a little excitement to the schools, honoring teachers and bringing a little Brewers love around the state,' he said.
'What the Brewers organization is trying to do is honor someone who has done amazing work, and that hard work pays off,' said Altoona Elementary Principal Leslie Lancette.
'Them getting to see their teacher get recognized for doing an amazing job also speaks to them for something that they can strive to be in the future. But additionally, I think it is also something for them to see a bigger organization like that coming in and supporting our school.'
As part of their tour honoring teachers and visiting area schools to meet the teachers where they are at, Schlesinger said he has seen a lot from their first year doing this surprise 'famous racing sausage' tour.
'What you see is genuine enthusiasm from the kids,' he said. 'They are very excited about the sausages obviously, but what is most inspiring is how excited they are for the teachers. When the teacher here won the award, you heard the screams and saw the smiles from all the kids and they really appreciated their teachers.
'Those are great bonds, and I think teachers are the unsung heroes in our country. It is nice to give them a little recognition for what they do. They are raising the next sausages, the next Brewers fans and next Brewers players, so it is great to give them recognition.'
As well as recognizing Deignan, the Brewers also honored the school with a $1,000 gift.
Before departing to another school in La Crosse, Brat, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, Hot Dog and Chorizo did a lap through the school hallways while high fiving students along the way.
'It was cool to experience with my class as well as the other third graders and my teaching team,' Deignan said. 'Just to be able to experience it all together and have them share in the moment with me was more valuable to me than just receiving an award on my own.'
