Would love to hear insight from those that attended their All Academy Ball.
The good - the bad
what you liked - what you would change
WA State All Service Academies Ball held Dec. 26th, 6 pm to midnight, at the Seattle Sheraton. This year it was hosted by the West Point Parents Club. This is the second one I have attended; the first was also hosted by the West Point Parents and was 3 years ago. I liked the venue, the food was excellent, and I enjoyed the speaker. Changes would include setting up a larger dance floor since it was a bit crowded. I would also ask the photographer to have his assistant take more candid shots; she only captured a tiny fraction of the people attending.
good turn out - poor turn out
We had a good turnout, between 325 and 350. As far as cadet/mid turnout approximate numbers were: 30 USMA, 12 USAFA, 15 USNA, 5 USCGA and 5 USMMA.
did your cadet/mid want to go or did they go b/c parents wanted them to go
Cadet went because I asked him to. We had such fun at the one when he was a plebe that I wanted to experience one more with him as a Firstie. Plus I felt obligated to attend since I’m on the board for our parents club and I wasn’t about to go without my cadet.
was the date of Ball a good date - would you prefer the date at another time
I would have preferred a different date but I realize the ball committee did not have any better choice during the two week leave period for cadets and mids. My husband and I were lucky, we had requested the week between Christmas and New Year’s off so having it on a Sunday night was okay. I noticed more people left early than the last time I attended.
Col. James Wilhite, USAR (ret.) who helped found the military academy in Afghanistan. My family really enjoyed him because he was funny, personable, and didn’t talk too long. The USMA parents will appreciate this – he says they call him the “Thayer” of Afghanistan. His book about the experience is “We Answered the Call, Building the Crown Jewel of Afghanistan.”
http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61566-779-6
was the cost of the ticket reasonable - did the Ball Committee pay for your cadet/mid
Cadets/Mids = $65, all others = $75
The cost was a bit high but it has been the same for the past 4+ years so I knew what to expect. Fundraising was difficult this past year. Had we received more donations we may have been able to refund part or all of the fee charged for the cadets/mids.
what entertainment did you have? DJ - Band- casino - silent auction
DJ only. I wish they could have raffled off prizes for the cadets and mids like we did the last time we hosted. We had some great things donated from local businesses and sports teams.
He took formal photos beginning at 5 p.m and continued throughout until 11 p.m. His assistant took some candid shots but my one complaint about the event was that she didn’t take enough, it was only about 100. When we attended 3 years ago there were 400-500 candids taken.
Seattle Sheraton was good venue. The ballroom and pre-function area were beautiful. Had 3 small bars set up for the cocktail hour so the lines were never very long. Plus, when our committee booked the event the hotel set aside a block of rooms for a special reduced rate for those attending. We got a very nice 4-star hotel room for $99. It was great to just go the room instead of having to drive home after the ball.
did you have a good time - did your cadet/mid have a good time
We all had a good time but I would have liked to stay a bit longer than we did (that was my husband’s fault…the party pooper
).
what did you think was special - POW/MIA table, lead out, dancing with your cadet/mid, evening out with spouse/cadet/mid, speaker etc.
Favorite/special things about the evening:
-first dance with cadet
-guest speaker
-prior to dinner all cadets/mids came up front in their academy groups, handed a microphone, and told their name, class year, major or intended major, branch or intended branch.
-seeing everyone, but especially the cadets and mids, dressed up.
What I am most curious about this year is considering that USNA, USMA and USAFA all went to Bowl games, do you think that that had a direct impact on the attendance?
Due to the distance between our state and the bowl locations, I don’t think the bowl games had any impact on our attendance.