The Mormon Formal

I am writing this blog to put all your hearts at ease...

Good clean fun seems to have taken a big hit....in fact there are people out there who think teenagers have no interest in good clean fun.

But when given the chance, kids prove they are interested in just having a good time....no pretense, no pressure..

I give you......the Mormon Prom...just a dance our church put on. There are Mormons all over the Las Vegas Valley, in fact over 100,000, so several stakes participated and it was a great event. A stake is just a unit of about 8 or 9 wards. Each ward has about three or four hundred members.

It started out as an inexpensive answer to the incredibly expensive (well over 500 dollars for some students) proms. Then it became an alternative to negative peer pressure. Then it became an opportunity for everyone to go, shy guys found confidence and a "safe place to fall." The atmosphere changed....pressure was off, it was just a great time to get dressed up, get a corsage, have a great dinner at no cost, and then off to a dance. They all still go to the high school dances, but this Prom is different....

The dinner I helped with was at my friend Susan Wise's house. She, along with her equally talented daughter Ashley, put together an amazing dinner. The tables were set beautifully, with fresh flowers, classy place settings with chargers, lots of forks and spoons to practice on, and candles everywhere.


The food was delicious and it was all cooked and served by their parents.

Everyone went to such lengths to make these kids feel special

It was an honor to serve these kids. This group was like every other group around the valley, student council kids, national honor society, baseball players, cheerleaders, student body presidents, volleyball players, football players, just all around good kids. Every senior I talked to had plans to attend college...doesn't that make you feel good? I loved it....

Just happy kids, enjoying being kids....

More happy kids.....

The dad's needed to take a break to watch the BYU game...

Four Centennial High School cheerleaders with the mascot - he is the one usually under the bulldog costume!

This kind of event was going on all over our valley. Small groups of kids invited to the homes of parents who make dinner at their expense, set beautiful tables, serve them, love them and then send them off to the dance. The girls choose their dresses carefully, they do agree to a dress code...nothing sleeveless, no cleavage, or too short.....you can see it doesn't take away from how beautiful all the girls are.

There might have been a lot of clean up..but no one seemed to mind...lots of hands, quick work.






Then after dinner they all left for the World Market Center in downtown Las Vegas. This facility is amazing and they had the entire top floor....and dessert. What could be better? Actually nothing...it was just the best.

A Great Day At Channel 8

So today Emma and I went over to Channel 8. Every high school nominates one senior to represent their school, and Channel 8 calls this program, "Nevada Pride."




She had to stand in front of the camera and introduce herself...no flies on Emma, she knows her name and the school she attends. So it went pretty fast...Hi! I am Emma Tagliaferri from Centennial High School..




I love this program because the focus is on good students....students who routinely give back. Emma and the student council she heads have contributed money to Haiti, shoes to Afghanistan, lunches to the homeless and collected money for a football player from Green Valley who was seriously injured in a game against the Bulldogs. I know that the parts of her high school life that she will cherish the most were the parts that had nothing to do with her, but what she could do for others.




This cute boy is from Palo Verde, Emma stopped complaining about all the pictures I was taking when we got one with Chandler. Chandler is the student body president at Palo Verde. This picture represents hundreds of hours of service, endless meetings and sleepless nights setting up for a dance, a town hall meeting, or a conference.
All great kids with a great future....Thanks Channel 8!!