Kaylan Figueroa, a 5th grade teacher at Riverhills Elementary Magnet School in Temple Terrace, won a $20,000 "Teacher Appreciation Dream Wedding Giveaway'' this year and got married earlier this month in the bucolic setting of Old McMicky's Farm in Odessa.
She tied the knot with Will Burnham, also from the Tampa Bay area, who is currently a football coach at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Old McMicky's Farm, an event center that offers weddings, kids' birthday celebrations, private parties and field trips, established the "Teachers ROCK" Free $20,000 Teacher Appreciation Dream Wedding Giveaway to raise awareness and appreciation of Tampa Bay area teachers for their hard work and dedication to the children in the community.
Teachers applied for the giveaway and Old McMicky's Farm followers voted on the winner on the farm's web site, oldmcmickys.com.
The Teacher Appreciation Giveaway was open to all teachers in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, including public and private school teachers, in grades Pre-K through 12th. The wedding was scheduled to occur in the month of May to coincide with Teacher Appreciation Month.
"Teachers make such a huge difference in the lives of children and families in our Tampa Bay community, we thought a great way for Old McMicky's Farm and the community to show our appreciation was to help a teacher start a family of their own with this $20,000 Dream Wedding Gift,'' according to a statement in a news release.