MARYSVILLE — The students of Marysville’s Naval Junior ROTC were at the State Avenue McDonald’s “McTeacher Night” fundraiser Feb. 12.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Kathy Wilde, naval science instructor for the recently rechristened “Quil Ceda Battalion,” explained that 85 students took part in coordinating the event and greeting customers that evening. They raised an estimated $1,000 that will be used for transportation to drill competitions and field trips.

“Because McDonald’s changed the way they do fundraisers, the kids were not allowed behind-the-counter work this year, so their focus became project management,” Wilde said. “They had to advertise throughout the district, find ways to invite the community to the event, and pre-sell coupon sheets to add to their total earnings. It gave them a great opportunity to use leadership skills, practice online promotion, and utilize the employability skills of customer service and communication.”

Wilde noted that the cadets also took time to explain the new name of their battalion, which was known as “Tomahawk Company” for 19 years.

“This year, we switched to a battalion chain of command, increasing leadership opportunities,” Wilde said. “With this change, the cadets solicited ideas for a new name that would represent the unit as a district program.”

The name “Quil Ceda Battalion” was submitted by Frank Monkman, a teacher at the Academy of Construction school on the Marysville Getchell High School campus.

“The loose translation of ‘Quil Ceda’ is ‘people of saltwater,'” Wilde said. “This works perfectly to honor our ties with the Navy and Marysville. As a group, we also manage the Quil Ceda Stadium throughout the fall, so the name is a perfect fit.”

The battalion is focused on its drill competition season. All seven of its teams have placed during the 2014-15 season, and its next competition is the divisional playoff, which kicks off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Snohomish High School. The battalion is working to be invited to the regionals, which serve as the state playoff, at Mount Tahoma High School March 28.

Quil Ceda Battalion will also host an open community event at 7 p.m. on April 1 in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School gym, with all the drill teams performing. It will be a food drive event, open to the public.