DECA celebrated the reopening of the Ram Shack with a schoolwide cookout Sept. 7.

The cookout was heavily promoted through daily announcements and flyers and is just one part of the organization’s plans for the upcoming year. DECA offered a menu of hot-dogs, burgers, chips and soda with prices ranging from $2.00 to $5.00, with addition of bacon or cheese for $0.50. The most popular items were the bacon cheeseburger, known as “Hermann’s Hog Heaven,” and the double bacon cheeseburger nicknamed “The Tarpenator.” In total, DECA raised $400.

“I liked the food,” senior Collin Christner said. “It was a cool way to open, it was advertised well, and I think they got a lot of response.”

According to Christner, one of DECA’s most effective advertising techniques were the names of their items. Besides “The Tarpenator” and “Hermann’s Hog Heaven,” DECA also sold the “Due Time Double,” “The Gargantuan Griffith Dog” and “Garner’s Gastrointestinal Festival.”

“I thought [the names] were kind of clever,” Christner said.  “It was a smart advertising move to make the whole deal a bit more fun and less of a sales pitch.”

The profits from the store will go to traveling fees to state and national DECA competitions in Florida and Salt Lake City. The money will also be used to restock the Ram Shack and offer brand new items to students.

“The Ram Shack will be open blue days during 3rd period every day and on special occasion white days and Ac labs depending on a given event occurring,” senior and DECA public relations director Andy Cohen said. “We want the Ram Shack to be a true school store, the hub of student activity, which is why we have teamed with StuCo to sell their Homecoming tickets, and that offer extends to other clubs and organizations. We want to sell your stuff. It just makes sense for it all to happen out of one central, organized place.”

Because Spirit Week and the Homecoming football game with Normandy are fast approaching, DECA decided to introduce a new line of spirit wear items. They hope that the students will be eager to buy them.

“This year we will be selling apparel designed by students for students,” senior and DECA president Karlyn Burton said. “This includes t shirts, a variety of long sleeved shirts, outerwear, and Ladue accessories.”

The Ram Shack closed at the end of the 2010-2011 school year, but despite the one year hiatus, many believe that it will emerge as strong as before. DECA in particular hopes that the Ram Shack will prove successful in the upcoming year.

“I think it’ll do well because it did well before, and students seem to like it,” junior Ellie Pinto said. “As long as the students are willing to support it and we can maintain a teacher to sponsor it, I think we may have another strong Ram Shack era.” #