It was truly a "Love Fest" Friday at Mill Creek Elementary. In a morning assembly, all the students, faculty and staff paid tribute to one of their own, Janice Love, as they crowned her "Queen for the Day."

            Janice Love, a teacher at Mill Creek, will undergo kidney transplant surgery at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta this week.

            The faculty, staff and students crowded into the assembly hall decorated with banners for Mrs. Love. They were there to sing songs and make presentations, each aimed at showing support and appreciation for their teacher.

            Janice was totally surprised by the outpouring.

            "I tell you they really put one on me. I don't know how they did it," said Love. "How can you get 600 kids not to tell something? I could not believe it. I was genuinely surprised."

            Principal Trey Robertson shed some light on their trickery.

            "It took a lot of work and coordination," said Robertson. "We didn't let the students in on exactly what we were doing until the last minute, because they would have never made it going up and down the halls."

            "The faculty and staff have been wonderful. This was their initiative. This was their plan and they came to me for it."

            Jennifer Kennedy was one of the main organizers, along with Kay Prosser and Joe Morgan.

            "I can't believe we did it," said Kennedy. "Teachers stayed after school, hid in the back of the room, we locked doors, we hung stuff over the windows — just every little trick and story we could think of. This just shows how much she means to us."

            Lee Love, Janice's son, took the semester off from the University of West Georgia to donate his kidney to his mom. He said the decision wasn't hard.

            "It was not hard at all," said Lee. "She's number one in my life, so it was a really easy decision."

            Roosevelt, Janice's husband, was also in attendance. He wanted to thank all who participated.

            "I think that's beautiful and that shows all the love in Bulloch County was right here with us," Roosevelt said. "The Love family just wants to thank each and every one."

            Mrs. Love has 25 years of teaching experience in the area. She spent 10 years at Twin City Elementary in Emanuel County and eight years at Sallie Zetterower Elementary. She is also a charter member of Mill Creek Elementary, where she has been since it opened in 2000.  She has won teacher of the year honors at all three schools.

            The city council and mayor declared August 31, 2007 Janice Love Day at Mill Creek Elementary School.  They also expressed appreciation to Janice Love for her dedication and service to the citizens of Statesboro.

            Janice's kidneys were damaged in July 2005 when she had an allergic reaction to Allopurinal which is used to manage excess levels of uric acid. Though side effects of Allopurinol are rare, in Love's case it caused Toxic Epidermal Necrosis Syndrome (TENS). As a result, she had third degree burns over 70 percent of her body. She was hospitalized for a month.

            When she returned to work in the fall of 2005, she said the folks at Mill Creek were incredibly supportive.

            "They cooked me meals every day for about two months," Love said. "It got to a point where I had to tell them to stop."

            In addition to Love overcoming her health issues caused by the allergic reaction, a year later she lost both of her siblings.

            Now, she and her husband look after their nephew, Jeremy Franklin. Franklin is a sophomore at Statesboro High.

            Even after all the support she received, Janice was still stunned on Friday afternoon.

            "I'm still amazed that they were able to put this over on me," Love said.

            Principal Robertson summed it up best.

            "It was a wonderful experience. We always say we're a family but it really felt like we were a family when we were in there this morning."