What a spooktactular night! So much fun! So much food! So many memories! What a shame it all had to end.

One look at all the smiling faces in the gym, the cafeteria, and the hallways, and you wouldn’t have to ask if this event was a success or not. What a great and safe way to celebrate Halloween.

Events such as this don’t just happen, they are made. So many people put in a ton of effort and for this we want to express our deepest gratitude. Without all the help and support we receive when putting on an activity like this, it wouldn’t be possible.

First and foremost I want to thank Paul Clavenna and Beth Kemp, my co-chairs for the Halloween Dance. All their hard word certainly paid off and it showed in how smoothly everything ran. What an indispensable couple to have as part of our Parent Group.

Next, did anyone get a chance to check out the sweet table? Well, it was a sight to behold. Janet Midulla along with her husband Noz and sons Jason and Tyler took the reigns for that table and presented the students with an elegant display of desserts and treats. Janet secured donations for much of what was found there. Donators are as follows:

• Wells Fargo – Andy Armstrong
• Bank of America – Katerina Zaferes
• Nino Salvaggio’s – Clinton Township
• Mannino’s Bakery

Our heartfelt thanks to these wonderful organizations for their generous donations and to Janet for all the time and effort she went to for this addition to the dance.

In addition to the sweets Janet brought in, a special thanks to Janni McLean, Lili Ennes, The McDonald Home and others that I apologize for not getting your names when you dropped off your treats, for their contributions. They helped fill out the table and ensured that we didn’t run out of special treats for all the students.

Organizing and setting up for an event such as this one takes time, patience, a lot of energy, and especially — experience. Without the help of Julie Berger (LPG President) and Ilene Bernstein (LPG Treasurer) this night could not have been pulled off. They stepped up and helped pull everything together and hold it there so everything could come off smoothly. Having chaired other dances throughout the years gives them an edge when it comes to making the magic happen on the night of the dance.

Another big part of making this dance a success is owed to all the parents and caregivers that volunteered their time and/or made donations of money or supplies. This year we were delighted to have so many parents/caregivers step-up and take an active role in putting on the dance. Thank you:

• Gloria DeLano
• Lili Ennes
• Katie Foukes
• Sue & Pat Houlihan
• Bob & Mary Johnson
• Xuan Lam
• Laura & Jim Lombardo
• Nancy & Rachel Malo
• Marco & Colleen Maniaci
• Scott McLean
• Shelly Meade & Riley Meade
• Barb Parker
• Angela Riddell
• Laurie Smith
• Michael Torres
• Bobbie Vultaggio
• And there were other parents that stepped up and jumped in but unfortunately I didn’t get everyone’s name, so please forgive this. Know that we truly appreciate the help and hope to see you at our next event.

Along with our parents, I can’t imagine how this could have been possible without the help and support of the Lutz staff and teachers. John Nader and Nick DeVault’s assistance and guidance was essential. Heidi Price for collecting and organizing all the volunteer request forms as well as all the dance registrations, plus so much more. Chris Moore for his assistance in setting up the tables and chairs, selling raffle tickets, and more things that we probably aren’t even aware of. Plus all the help from the staff/teachers during the dance. I wish I had a complete list of everyone that showed up to help, but unfortunately I do not. I only have the list of those that initially signed up to help, but know there were at least 10 more staff/teachers there to help and their presence was essential. Those that I do know for certain are:

• Jill Woods & Emily
• Kim Czygan
• Patti Hoekstra
• Marina Garcia & Daughters
• Krysten Gentile
• Wendi Poole
• Pam Penkala
• Linda Zink
• Lauren & Justin Steiner
• Edwina Barsuhn
• Catie Bosherz
• Sue Catanese
• And again, I apologize for those not listed, as not everyone that was there was on the list I was given.

In addition to all the LPG board and committee members, parents, guardians, staff and teachers of Lutz, there were also more than a dozen volunteers from the Dakota National Honor Society (Jennah and Chloe), International Academy of Macomb National Honor Society (Ashley, Madeline, Maria, Anna, Mlaika, and Riasingh), and Chippewa Valley National Honor Society (Marisa, Allisyn, and Aubrey) that came and offered a hand. This list of names again is not complete, as the night was hectic and not everyone signed in.  I know that many of the students enjoyed chatting and dancing with these volunteers.

I also want to give a special thanks to my daughter Kaila for all her help in setting up the photo op in the lobby, securing photo releases so we could post photos on the website (these should be posted shortly), serving pizza, tearing down and packing the car with all the photo op pieces, and of course being a constant source of assistance whenever I needed it. And also to my mom, Judy Germain, for donating all the water for the dance.

WOW! That’s a lot of people and I know I have forgotten at least one or two (or twenty) others that either didn’t sign in or just jumped in and lent a hand when we needed it.

So let’s look at the unofficial numbers:

60+ Parents/Guardians, Staff/Teachers, NHS Volunteers, Board & Committee Members – working hard before, during and after the event to make sure 130 students enjoyed a Halloween Dance to remember.

Unbelievable! This is truly an awesome show of support for the Parent Group and we are ever so grateful! Just looking at those numbers should prove that it takes an unbelievable amount of people to pull something like this off and we definitely couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Again, if I have not listed someone I truly apologize. I tried hard to stay on top of all the help we received, but quickly slipped beneath the growing number of volunteers that stepped up to help. Shoot me an email and I will certainly update this list and give credit where credit is due.

Look forward to seeing everyone at the next Parent Group Meeting (November 13th at 6:30 in the Lutz cafeteria) and/or event.

Sincerely,

Lisa Dukicin, LPG VP