Surprised Elementary School Teacher Is 10 Millionth Patron At Des Moines Civic Center

DES MOINES, IA — When "Something Rotten!" opened at the Des Moines Civic Center this week, a Des Moines teacher was surprised to learn the night had turned into something wonderful for her. Donna Britt, who has been teaching in the Des Moines school district since 1975, was named the 10 millionth patron of the Civic Center.

Britt started her teaching career in 1975 at Pleasant Hill Elementary School. In 2008 she moved to Jackson Elementary School on the city's south side. One of her interests is the performing arts and she has been the coordinator for Civic Center field trips at Jackson, so she assumed the free tickets she was given for the new musical were a "thank you" for filling that role.

But when Des Moines Performing Arts decided to honor its 10 millionth guest with a surprise presentation on Oct. 10 — the date they calculated the milestone would be reached — they chose an educator as the honorary designee. More than 600,000 of the Civic Center visitors have been students taken on field trips as part of the Applause series, which provides matinee performances to the students so they can experience live professional theater.

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That's where Britt came in. She has coordinated Jackson's trips for nearly a decade. Though she officially retired in 2014, she still substitutes at the school — and has taken more than 6,000 Jackson students to Civic Center performances, the Des Moines Schools wrote on its blog.

As part of Britt's surprise, the school received $10,000, which include a free field trip later this year for the entire school and $7,500 for arts education, according to the district blog.

Photo courtesy of Des Moines Civic Center