Health & Fitness
Ceremony and tribute at largest District 218 JROTC Military Ball
This year's JROTC ball dew 300+ and included the kind of ceremony and tribute common to dances hosted by military branches.
Emulating traditional military dances, the joint JROTC Military Ball in District 218 brought together more than 300 students in a way that would make veterans proud of the teenagers. Now in its fourth year, the 2013 edition drew its largest crowd.
Staff and students take pride infusing as much ceremony into the ball as possible. An hour before the dance started, Shepard High School senior Justin Reynolds gave a great example.
Reynolds, the company commander of the U.S. Air Force JROTC program, carefully arranged the POW/MIA tribute table.
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"This is done at our military ball and all other military balls,” said Chief Bill Foster, one of the JROTC instructors at Shepard. “A table is set with one place setting for our fallen who can’t be with us.”
During the event, a student reads what each item at the table symbolizes. The chair remains empty, symbolizing the absence. A single red rose displayed in
a vase serves as a reminder of the life of each missing person and their loved
ones who keep faith while awaiting answers.
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A red ribbon on the vase symbolizes the determination to account for those missing. An inverted glass represents their inability to share the evening's toast.
Hosted by the U.S. Air Force JROTC program at Shepard High School, U.S. Navy JROTC program at Richards High School, and U.S. Marine Corps JROTC program at Eisenhower High School, the ball featured a host of military traditions, dinner, and dancing.
While JROTC directors make the arrangements for the event and help students rehearse the many military customs that give the ball its character, many of the details fall to student leaders. Over the last couple of years, students have started to handle much of the preparation.
Students get to dress up, mingle, relax, dance, and learn. Some compare the ball to prom. Richards students Randy Flaherty and Kylla Pate served as king and queen of the ball.
This year’s event featured U.S. Army Captain Daniel Johnson, who recently returned from Afghanistan, as guest speaker.
Captain Johnson served as a Brigade Operations Officer and Border Police Combat Advisor. Earlier in his career, he served a tour in Iraq as commander of a construction platoon.
