Perrysburg High student wins car from Taylor Automotive

Wilkin takes red 2017 Hyundai Elantra with sticker price of $19,290

5/19/2017
BY ZACK LEMON
BLADE STAFF WRITER
  • Wilkin-jpg-5-19

    Amber Wilkin of Perrysburg High School won a car from Taylor Automotive.

    13 ABC

    • Amber Wilkin was so nervous she was having trouble putting the key in the ignition of the red 2017 Hyundai Elantra on the auditorium stage at Perrysburg High School.

    For the past eight years, Steve Taylor of Taylor Hyundai has given away a car to a PHS student, and the annual tradition continued Thursday.

    Amber was one of three students handed a key to a car, all of which only worked for one of the cars on stage. She was the last name drawn, so she sat in the only car remaining. When told to turn the key, the car revved to life, and Amber was the new owner of the Elantra, with a sticker price of $19,290.

    “I don’t even know what was going through my mind,” she said.

    The contest draws from more than 2,000 entries in the “Driven to Succeed” program, which awards an entry for a student for various positive achievements.

    “Some students could have one or two entries, some could have 25,” said Julie Woods, the digital marketing manager for Taylor Hyundai. 

    Senior students get one entry each for every “A” grade earned, for each sport or extracurricular participation, and for a teacher recommendation. Students also must have been free of disciplinary issues and had good attendance records. 

    “We are so grateful to Mr. Taylor, Nick Marconi, Julie Woods, and the rest of the Taylor Hyundai staff for partnering with our school, and for their ongoing generosity, sponsorship and support of our students and teachers here at Perrysburg High School,” said principal Michael Short, in a written statement.

    Amber had been sharing a car with her twin sister, Ashley, but they now both have their own set of wheels. 

    Both sisters will head to Brigham Young University, where Amber will study art. She is inclined to study painting, and hopes to have her own home business selling her work.

    Contact Zack Lemon at: zlemon@theblade.com, 419-724-6282, or on Twitter @zack_lemon.