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The tradition holds the first time a representative has a bill passed they have to provide a lunch for the others. The students made and served: 20 gallons of Huron County Bean Soup, using 25 pounds of Huron County navy and black beans; 150 Ear of Corn Cornbreadsticks; 150 breadsticks, 12 dozen Michigan Sugar Cookies, shaped like the State of Michigan using Huron County beet sugar, and 12 dozen chocolate chip cookies.

Reilly said Brown, the former principal of the technical center, asked them to provide "things that are near and dear to his heart" so the lunch was made from crops and products from Huron County to showcase goods the Thumb has to offer.

Reilly explained she was excited about the invitation because "we get to show them our tax dollars in action and what we can do."

All of the more than 40 students in the program helped prepare the food. Second-year students Nick Osantoski, Bad Axe High School, Kevin Rochefort, Bad Axe High School, James Soper, Port Huron High School, and Channel Cove, Bad Axe High School, went on the trip to Lansing to serve the meal Wednesday afternoon. Accompanying the students were instructors Laura Reilly and John Miles as well as Huron Intermediate School District Superintendent Robert Colby. Riley said the students who went along were seniors in their last year in the program.

Some of those who contributed home-grown ingredients for the initiation luncheon included: Cooperative Elevator Company of Pigeon donated 50 pounds of navy beans and 50 pounds of black beans (the school's program will use the extra beans for additional projects), Michigan Sugar Company donated 20 pounds of beet sugar for the cookies, local farmers Don Shadd and Brian Particka also donated beans for the soup, Cielo Water Co. of Port Austin donated Michigan's Diamond Blue Premium Water and LeRoy Eimers of Unionville donated honey.

In a news release, Brown praised and thanked students in the hospitality and food service program at the center for catering his "First Bill Luncheon."

"My colleagues and I were extremely impressed, not just by the fantastic meal the students prepared but also by the professional way they conducted themselves," Brown said. "I really appreciate all their hard work."

"It was a thrill for me to share the honor of passing my first bill by showcasing the high-quality students, educators and crops that make me proud to be from the Thumb," Brown said. "The way our community came together to make this luncheon possible proves what I've been telling everybody in Lansing Ð that the Upper Thumb is Michigan's best-kept secret."

The bill, HB 4472, about ethics in elections, prohibits legislators, as well as the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General from directly or indirectly applying for or accepting state grants and from participating in negotiations of a state grant with anyone who has made a contribution to their campaign committee. The bill goes on to the Michigan Senate.