A sophisticated night filled with fine dining, awards, speeches, and dancing? It's time for the annual JROTC Military Ball.
Planning and preparing for the ball began as soon as the school year started and it all ended with a fun night at the Shadow Lakes Country Club.
The night started at 5:30 p.m. with the receiving line which consisted of BNCO Aiden Doedyns and 1st Lieutenant Kenzie Fleming, CSM Caleb Starkey, and Operations SGM Delaney Young, Colonel Wilson and her wife, Sergeant Major Weaver, and Principal Snowden and his wife.
Young explained, “Mil ball was very nice. I really liked the set-up of Shadow Lakes. It was a very nice time for everyone involved. I’ve been in JROTC for a long time and it means a lot to me to see other cadets, parents, and other people having fun.”
After everyone shook hands through the receiving line, cadets, parents, and dates filed into the dining room and found their assigned seats.
Sergeant Major’s daughter, Neveah Weaver, was invited to the ball to sing the National Anthem before dinner.
Guests had the choice between a chicken dinner, steak dinner, or a vegetarian option for their meal. Dinner was followed by a cake that was cut by the youngest and oldest person in the program: eighth grader Emily Turyan and Col. Wilson.
Pennsylvania State Representative Josh Kail then expressed his thoughts on the Beaver Area JROTC program in a speech, while everyone else ate.
After dinner and dessert, speeches were given by cadets from all four LET levels. Freshman Alessandra Guinto gave the LET 1 speech, sophomore Emmaleah Cunningham represented the LET 2 class, LET 3 junior Delaney Thomas spoke, as did senior LET 4 Noah Palavoras.
The speeches were followed by team recognitions and a few words from Sergeant Major Weaver about the effort and hard work each team put forth this past year.
After speeches the coveted awards ceremony began.
Awards were presented from all four branches of the military, the American Legion, the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, the Order of the World Wars, and specific awards that Col. Wilson and SGM Weaver presented to cadets including awards for athletics, academics, and leadership skills.
Sophomore Josh Dahama stated, “Mil Ball was such a nice, classy evening out with all my friends from the battalion. I also felt proud and surprised that I won my award.”
Every LET level has one cadet that receives the Superior Cadet of the Year award.
LET 1’s and 2’s have to participate and win two “boards.” Boards are essentially interviews where LET 4’s ask these cadets questions pertaining to the program.
LET 3’s and 4’s superior cadets are chosen by SGM and Col.
Freshman Levin Fleming, sophomore Ava Haverstock, junior Sam Anderson, and senior Delaney Young were the superior cadets of the year.
“I’m very grateful for the awards I received and thankful I was chosen for them,” Young explained.
After the awards ceremony the seniors were recognized and walked through a sword tunnel with their dates on their arms. They then watched a slideshow with childhood memories and listened to a song that each senior specifically chose.
“I was on this year's honor guard which makes the sword bridge for seniors to walk under. We practiced hard and it turned out looking really nice. The evening was very fun, eventful, and classy,” Dahama said.
To conclude the night, the military ball king and queen were crowned. Seniors Dakota Totsky and Young were the military ball king and queen.
The cadets then were able to let loose with an hour of dancing after the dinner, ceremony, and awards.
During open dancing time a photo booth also was offered. Cadets and dates were able to take photos with fun props and take home the nice party favor of a photo strip.
