Local kids win flooring for schools by belting out versions of Luna jingle

Jordan Garcia, 6, watches the Naked Brothers Band on Nickelodeon. Allison M. Jones, 11, loves Beyoncé. And little Lucy Bullock, 5, is a Taylor Swift kind of gal.

The three kids have different musical tastes, but two things in common: They love to sing and they've got great pipes.

Allison, Jordan and Lucy were runners-up in the 2009 Luna Kid Contest, held at a Luna store in Naperville. And for their bursting-with-personality interpretations of the short, but catchy jingle - "773-202-LUNA!" - each won new flooring worth $2,000 for his or her school. More than 100 youngsters auditioned.

Two of the finalists attend classes in West Chicago Elementary School District 33: Allison is a sixth-grade honor student at Pioneer Elementary and Jordan is a first-grader at Indian Knoll Elementary.

Both schools chose white vinyl tile, which will be installed during the summer.

It's great timing, because District 33 has been in the process of replacing carpet with tile to help combat concerns about allergies.

"We as a district have determined we want the carpeting out, but it's not something we can afford (to do all at once)," said Becky Koltz, director of community relations. "The kids winning the Luna contest has been great, because that's two more classrooms being done not at our expense, and that's exciting."

Lucy attends kindergarten at St. Mary School in Buffalo Grove, which has not decided what kind of flooring to get. But Lucy is hoping for green carpet.

Allison, who was third runner-up, performs with the choir at Wheaton Bible Church. She wants to be a singer when she grows up.

Allison was only 4 when her family realized, "Wow, she can sing," said her mother, Retta Jones.

The little girl was performing a number from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - the Cindy Lou Who part - and everyone was struck by her beautiful voice. And she keeps getting better and better, her mom said.

Allison recently auditioned for "America's Got Talent" and the family expects to hear this month if she has been picked. She also went to Houston to record a demo, and is working with a writer and producer.

Jordan, second runner-up, is "quite a character" who loves to sing and act, said his mom, Catherine Garcia. He was one of only two boys who auditioned.

Lucy, first runner-up, got a laugh from the judges when she said she entered the contest "because I love commercials."

To hear Lucy sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" in her sweet, clear voice, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTB8KeoW6YQ.

The Luna contest winner, Zaria Primer of Bellwood, will sing the jingle in a Luna commercial - and also gets new flooring for her school.

The day of the contest, Lucy sang "773-202-LUNA" most of the way in the car from Buffalo Grove to Naperville.

Once they got to Naperville, her mother, Liz McCoy Bullock, was having some trouble finding the store. Liz said she wished she had a number to call.

"My daughter looked at me, like, you're kidding right?"