Country Time Throws Lemonade Party For Boys Who 'Affected Social Change'

By Jamie Leary

DENVER (CBS4) - A national lemonade company took time Saturday to honor three Denver boys who have gone above and beyond to make sure lemonade stands never go away.

Country Time Lemonade promised the Guffey brothers a party if Denver reworked licensing requirements for kids' lemonade stands. After a unanimous vote by Denver City Council this summer, the brothers had a new ordinance. They just needed the party.

On Saturday, in the same Stapleton neighborhood where their stand was shut down, the lemonade company fulfilled its promise.

There was music, a bouncy house and endless amounts of lemonade.

Ben, 7, William, 5, and Johnathan, 2, were thrilled. While they have all learned a lot about the art of selling lemonade, their parents believe they are learning much more.

"What we hope is that they saw how one person or one small group of people can affect social change," said Patrick Guffey, the boys' father.

Their mother, Jennifer Knowles, was beaming.

"This is a big day!" she exclaimed with a huge smile.

The family has plans to do much more.

"Denver has changed and now we're going to see what we can do for the state of Colorado," said Knowles.

They are working a draft bill with a state legislator to change Colorado laws so that anyone under the age of 18 can have a lemonade stand without having to get a permit.

Knowles says they are modeling it after a law passed in Utah. Currently that's the only state to have such a law.

Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.