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People Out Loud: Stepping up – Crowd-pleaser deserves repeat performance

dixon2016By Dixon Bledsoe

Congratulations to Brent Satern, a Silverton native and newer member of Silverton Rotary Club. He had an idea, he ran with it and it worked out well.

The first ever Daddy-Daughter Dance in this area was held May 7 at Silverton High School and it was a smash.  More than 260 fathers and daughters attended this inaugural “Princess” ball.

Satern, a Silverton financial services business owner, came up with the idea after reading about another Rotary Club hosting a similar event. That event was so popular their club has scheduled a second Daddy-Daughter Dance. Satern, married to the former Kelly Milliron and father of 3 year-old daughter Avery and 10 month-old Jack, was seen cutting a rug with his daughter and making sure the event came off with nary a hitch.

The crowd went wild when the “Princess” themed dance, “Happily Ever After,” kicked into high gear with a rousing rendition of the hit song from Frozen- Let It Go. Even with the singer’s voice silenced, the entire crowd knew most of the lyrics and followed the instrumentals perfectly.

Kudos to Satern, who saw a need to help fathers connect with their daughters as a leading role models in their young lives. Many service clubs are filled with older volunteers who have been helping out in their communities for so long they seem to be waiting for the younger cavalry to come in and take the reins. This young father  just took over and pulled off one of the most charming and successful events in years.

Although a Rotary fundraiser that raised a significant sum for scholarships, this event was much more. The bonds between fathers and daughters need to be strong, sure, nurtured, and deep. It starts the day fathers are blessed with daughters. I was promoting the event to an acquaintance, who kind of chuckled. I thought it might have brought back a few memories of dancing with his own daughters. Instead, he mentioned that it was kind of “cheesy.”  Having seen my daughter married nearly two years ago, it made me think of the “father daughter” dance at her wedding. A priceless memory. This year’s Daddy-Daughter Dance was limited to fathers and daughters who are eighth grade or younger.  I can only hope that for next year’s event, and there will be many more, I am assured, all fathers and daughters who wish to dance will be allowed to do so. Cheesy? I’m good with that. And by the way, check out the photographs of the dance on Our Town’s Facebook page. Evidence it was a great event.

What do you hope to see happen to the Eugene Field School property?  The die is cast and at some point in the near future we are likely to see a for sale sign go up. Retail stores? Commercial enterprises, business offices, or light industrial uses? Affordable upscale housing? Park space? Mixed use? Small accredited art school? This is big. I just hope we do it right. Property like that in a town this charming comes perhaps once in a lifetime.

Here comes Donald and Hillary. Who is ready for that?  I am about as passionate about this race as I am with day-old bread and butter that has been in the fridge way too long. So much for the belief that “the cream rises to the top.” Perhaps true in some arenas, but in politics, not so much. But as an independent voter and at the risk of alienating my six readers, it really is a no-brainer. One is imminently qualified with baggage, and the other is not even remotely qualified and has a Yankee stadium full of baggage and a mouth built to alienate. At least CNN had some comic relief in this depressing election year – an interview with Sarah Palin, who was asked if she had been approached to be Trump’s vice president.  She replied, “There is probably someone better able to help the campaign than me.” She’s a quick study.

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