IVCC Students dubbed “Pizza angels” by WGN
By Austin Rosencrans
IV Leader Staff, Feb 15, 2007
Friday, Dec. 2 was anything but ordinary for two IVCC
students. For many it was a day to sleep in and relax due to the 13 inches of
snow that fell the night before, resulting in an IVCC snow day. Carleigh Damron,
a 20-year-old IVCC student, and Holly Jackson, a 19-year-old student, were
dubbed the “Pizza Angels” by WGN Chicago radio host John Williams, after the two
girls delivered pizzas from Lou’s LaGrotto in Peru to stranded drivers on
Interstate 80.
The two girls listened to the radio before Damron was due
into work at Jeremiah Joe’s in Ottawa. They heard reports on many vehicles being
stuck in traffic on I-80 for hours.
Williams volunteered to pay for 10 pizzas on his own credit
card from Lou’s LaGrotto to be delivered to the stranded drivers. All he need
was someone in the LaSalle County area to pick up the pizzas, then battle the
weather to get the pizzas to the drivers. “I thought, ‘I have nothing to do
until work,’ and I was really bored, so I called in and volunteered to help,”
Damron said.
Damron volunteered herself and Jackson to help out the people
who have been stuck in traffic for hours. After a 45-minute drive to the pizza
place, they got onto I-80 from Peru. “As soon as I got onto the interstate, we
saw several cars and semis in the ditch, the roads were really bad and I began
to get nervous,” Damron said. As soon as the two got onto I-80 the traffic began
to pick up, making it difficult to deliver the pizzas.
With 10 pizzas in the backseat of Damron’s 2002 Honda Accord,
the two girls were only able to hand out one pizza to two men in a tow truck
alongside of them. Since the traffic was moving at a steady pace they decided to
go back to the Peru Shell gas station to hand out the rest.
They gave away seven more pizzas at the gas station to other
drivers. They met a couple from Missouri, a Californian man, and other people
scattered throughout the Chicago land area. Three hours and over 100 miles
driven later, Damron and Jackson returned to Ottawa. Damron was two hours late
for work but her boss did not mind.
The following Monday, Damron was back on the WGN Radio
station with Williams to go over her not-so-ordinary delivery driving
experience. Damron and Jackson were rewarded for the efforts by WGN. They
received gift certificates to a jewelry store, passes to the Shedd Aquarium, and
a free lobster dinner. “I am grateful for having such a fun and safe
experience,” Damron said about her trip. After being on air with WGN Radio a few
times, Damron realized that she should major in communications. “I did not know
what I wanted to major in, so this proves that nearly anything can open your
eyes to new doors,” Damron said in reference to her future plans.
These two students battled the weather to help out complete
strangers, proving that they truly are the “Pizza Angels”.