Brookville High students thankful to hotel staff for hospitality during Sunday snowstorm

Holiday Inn in Charlottesville feeds theater students, parents, teachers

CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. – A group of Brookville High School theater students, their teacher and some parents went to New York City this past weekend for an opportunity they couldn’t miss. 

“The students have an opportunity to go to workshops with Broadway professionals. This time, we saw the show "Anastasia" and had a talkback with her,” Megan Emanuel, theater teacher, said.

After a weekend of activities, Mother Nature had different plans when it was time to head back home to Campbell County on Sunday. Junior Reed Rosenbaum said, “It was sort of like a crazy transition. It was straight from normal roads and then snow just started hitting us.” 

The group considered whether to stop or keep going, and an executive decision was finally made. 

“My principal called me and the bus driver said, 'We need to stop,' and so it all just happened at the right moment. We looked over and there was a Holiday Inn,” Emanuel said. 

With nowhere else to go because the storm closed many businesses, the staff at the Charlottesville Holiday Inn on Emmett Street welcomed the group of 52 with open arms. 

“They gave us a whole floor to ourselves. We all got to stay together and it just helped us really bond a lot more together, I think, and we also had snowball fights outside,” Sarah Bergin, senior at Brookville High, said.

What had felt like a long moment of uncertainty quickly became an early Christmas miracle for the group. 

“It was just really peaceful,” Rosenbaum said, sighing. "We can unwind.” 

The group said it is beyond thankful for the experience.

“Thank you so much for opening your hotel to us, and letting us be safe for the night and feeding us,” Rosenbaum said.