The music is loud, the lights are shining, and you are on the dance floor breaking it down. You have had months of anticipation and finally the big night here. Students school-wide come to dance the night away. The girl’s outfit planning and spray tanning and the boys’ fresh haircuts are having their moment to shine. Saturday, January 4, the Lewis Cass SADD Club presented a night full of fun. Hosted at Kokomo’s very own Cross America Event Center, the SADD club created a decadent, dance-filled night.
The planning for this event began all the way back in the fall of this school year. The SADD club first met and decided on the date and venue for the dance. After much discussion and consideration, they decided to have the dance at Cross America in Kokomo on January 4. Then came the most important part, the theme. The theme is so crucial because they need to plan the decorations, tickets, and food around it. So finally, after a quick survey and some conversations, it had been decided. The dance will be themed “Red Carpet”.
After that, the big planning came in. SADD club sponsor and English teacher, Mrs. Davis gave us an idea about what planning was really like. Mrs. Davis said, “Planning a dance like this takes a great deal of work from club members, especially officers, and adults as well. Tickets had to be ordered, obtained, and then sold during lunch. Staff had to donate a great deal of time to be chaperones. Decorations had to be ordered and delivered. Decorating took around three hours to decorate. Refreshments were purchased and displayed. A DJ and venue had to be contracted as well. We needed a photographer who had to be contracted.” It is, without a doubt, all hands were on deck to create this entertaining event.
To pull off this complex operation senior and president of SADD Club, Eliana Cicalo was asked about what it takes. She said, “A big aspect of the dance planning process was having weekly meetings to discuss all the details leading up to the dance. So many members of SADD club pledged their time and their abilities to getting this dance underway and at our weekly meetings we were able to bounce ideas off one another, and actively communicate all of the decorations purchasing, food orders, music, photography, and so much more that went into preparing for this dance.” To get all of the gears turning Eliana said, “SADD club is fortunate enough to have enough members to break up certain responsibilities involving the dance preparation, into multiple committees. We have a decorations committee, a food committee, and many other areas dedicated to focusing on one area of preparation at a time. The biggest secret to pulling off such a big task is having the help of multiple dedicated people in every aspect of the planning and executing process.” The SADD club members really came through and more importantly, came together to create a night to remember for their fellow students.
With the dance being held over the winter break, some concerns about attendance were discussed. But, students still made an effort to come and Mrs. Davis said there were even more than she expected. With selling over 20 tickets at the door, there were a little over 120 students in attendance. Mrs. Davis said as a chaperone she thought the dance was great, but I decided to get some opinions from some attendees as well. Sophomore, Ben Jay said he had fun attending the dance and it was very worth going. Junior, Harrison Clark also agrees; he said “It was a great time, I had a lot of fun, and it was a nice venue.” Most students really made the most of the night by making plans for themselves and the friends and dates they attended the dance with. Many went out to eat before or after the dance at local restaurants or went and did activities like bowling.
Overall, the dance was for everyone in attendance to enjoy. It is nice to know that the hard work of fellow students was able to create a magical night. All of the planning and preparation finally paid off. Seeing so many people attend provided a sense of community and school spirit. So whether you helped plan the entire event or just showed up to the dance, it provided an opportunity for everyone to let loose.
