Third in a series

Young Achiever Miles Toenyes

Highland, Ill., kid's response
to Sept. 11 tragedy

When the events of last September 11 happened, 12-year-old Miles Toenyes knew he wanted to do something to help. His streetside lemonade stand brought in $400 in Red Cross relief funds in just one day.

And the memory of his stand has continued to bring in money this summer.

One of Miles' key business decisions was not to charge for the lemonade.

The Highland, Ill., seventh-grader said, "We decided we might raise more money if we gave away the lemonade and just asked for donations."

That turned out to be a good decision. One woman from Edwardsville, Ill., gave him a check for $70 for her glass of lemonade. Miles gave anyone donating $5 or more an American flag pin along with the lemonade.

Then, just last month, his dad, Joe, brought in a check for $100 from his boss to increase the total. In all, Miles' one-man relief effort has brought in $500.

He contributed all the proceeds, not even taking out the $25 of his own money he had spent to buy the lemonade stand supplies. He earned the first $400 in about eight hours of manning the lemonade stand.

That charity effort along with other school and community activities earned Miles a Gateway 2002 Young Achiever of the Year award. A total of 12 metro-area youngsters were given the award this spring.

(Young Saint Louis.com is profiling the elementary and middle school winners. To read the May, 2002, announcement story, click here. For the June, 2002, profile, click here; and the July, 2002, profile, click here.)

Miles' original plan was to have the lemonade stand in front of his house. But, the family home is on a quiet residential street with little traffic. So, his parents' helped him get permission to set up at a gas station on a busier streat nearby.

Also, his older sister called a couple of St. Louis radio stations that mentioned his stand on the air. That's how the Edwardsville woman heard about him and drove down for her $70 serving of lemonade.

It turned out Miles also did an additional good deed that day. A local woman who had lost her dog came by to ask if she could put a lost-and-found poster on the lemonade stand.

Just after putting up the poster, Miles spotted the dog running down the street. Leaving his niece and nephew in charge of the stand, he ran after and caught the dog. He was able to return it to the owner just a few minutes later.

Another good deed that helped the Achiever judges to focus on Miles happened in 1999. While he was going to eat at a local restaurant, Miles found a wallet in the parking lot.

In checking the contents for identification, he found $750. He turned the wallet into city police who contacted the woman from nearby Breeze, Ill. When picking up the wallet, the woman said the money was all her Christmas money for her seven children and 14 grandchildren.

She gave Miles a $10 reward. But, later during a dinner honoring him, a man who had won a $60 door prize gave the all the prize money to Miles.

Although he lives in the city of Highland, Miles raises purebred hogs and shows them at county and state fairs. This year, his Yorkshire hog places first at the Madison and Clinton county fairs. He owns about 30 hogs, which are kept on his grandparents' farm.

Miles likes to participate in basketball and football. He's hoping to resume football this fall after having to sit out last season while recovering from a bicycle accident. He fell while doing stunts on his bike and narrowly escaped serious injury.

The hand-brake lever on the handlebar caught him just under his armpit and came within an inch of puncturing a lung.

His two sports heroes are the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr., the racing driver killed in 2001, and Marshall Faulk, the running back of the St. Louis Rams.

Miles' bedroom is filled with Earnhardt posters and memorabilia. He said he liked Earnhardt because he was "so competitive." Miles has transferred his allegiance to Earnhardt's son, race driver Dale, Jr.

Asked about Faulk, Miles said liked him "because he worked his way up from a poor background."

Miles said he hopes to pursue a career in pro baseball. He plays third base and catcher and says he has a "pretty good arm" for throwing out basestealers.