Sam's Club Manager Moe Goodwin poses with Evans City Middle School sixth-grader Makenna Lydon and the letter that caught his attention enough to throw Makenna's class a party on Friday.

EVANS CITY — An Evans City Middle School sixth grade student earned her class a party on Friday as the result of a letter she wrote to Sam's Club.

Makenna Lydon wrote to the store that she had chosen it as her favorite business for a language arts project in Robin Presco's class.

Every year, Presco gives her students the assignment of writing a letter to their favorite local businesses to get them thinking about businesses they like. The guidelines for the assignment are relatively simple.

“They're not allowed to complain,” Presco said, “or write to family and friends.”

Sam's Club, in response to Makenna's letter, provided party snacks and juice and also hosted a short question-and-answer session for the students interested in learning more about the business.

Questions included “Do you sell cheese balls?” and “Are you partnered with Walmart?”

Moe Goodwin, store manager, answered most of the children's questions and explained that he and the other store representatives were inspired by Makenna to do something for the students.

“Her genuine liking of everything she saw in Sam's really caught my attention, just to have an innocent mind look at what you're doing and appreciate it,” Goodwin said. “I think she used the word 'love' seven times.”

While Presco said the assignment is always enjoyable, it has only produced this kind of outreach from a business one other time when, a few years ago, Bob Evans provided lunch to her class as a “thank you” for a letter of appreciation.

Makenna said she was “really surprised” when Sam's Club responded to her letter.

She said she goes to the store “pretty often” with her father and 3-year-old brother.

“We drink lots of milk,” she said, “so we have to go get milk a lot.”

Georgia Bowser, another store representative who went to Evans City to talk with the students, said she thought Makenna's letter was “so cool” and “so sweet,” which was why she brought it to Goodwin's attention.

Goodwin and Bowser said people don't often write letters to express their appreciation and often complain instead, so Makenna's letter affected them.

“I think it opens eyes up to what our young people are seeing — what they're liking and what matters to them. Sometimes, we don't even realize the impact we make in the things we do every day,” Goodwin said.

Makenna said she might try to get a job at Sam's Club when she's older.