World Klaas

October 12, 2006

By Carman Ratliff

My daughter is a 2nd grader at Woodland Park Elementary in Sparta. Her class has been learning a song about places in the world and looking up the locations on their world map. I asked Ruth, Klaas and Pikey if they would be interested in going to talk to her class since they are all from different countries and backgrounds. Of course, they were all 3 up for the challenge. I printed out some coloring pages related to all 3 countries, we hopped in my van and off we went. It was amazing watching how the 3 of them interacted with the children and watching the children interacting with the 3 of them. When Klaas started speaking German, I don’t think the kids knew what to think. He is a born entertainer and the kids loved him; he taught them how to count to 7 in German. Pikey was as impressed with their Southern accents as they were with his English accent.

It was definitely a learning experience for everyone involved. Neither Pikey nor Klaas had ever been in an American School, so they were quite enamored.

I have worked for Jackson Kayak for over a year and ½ and have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most interesting, fun and awesome individuals. These 3 proved what I have known all along, kayakers are awesome people and Jackson Kayak has some of the best in the business!

Carman Ratliff
Jackson Kayak
Customer Service Manager