The moral of the story is… Before you say, “Sure sweetheart, I’m sure we can come up with something,” when two cute teenage girls bat their eyes and give that charming “you’ll do anything for me grin”, be sure you know what you’re getting yourself in for!
In the fall of 1999 Kara K and Janel P brainstormed up the idea of a Prom for homeschool students (since neither of their parents would let them attend a public school Prom…ole stick in the muds that they were). Christine calls Rita, introduces herself and convinces her that it really won’t be that hard to pull together a little Prom. Rent a room, hire a DJ, have a few decorations, a few snacks, figure out the cost and divide it up between the students who attend. Sounded like an easy plan. Do it once and call it done. Well, it wasn’t quite that easy. Hotel ballrooms were expensive, DJ’s pricey, contracts and money were required upfront, and Rita would not decorate with crepe paper and balloons. At that point most women with half a brain would have run, but Rita and Christine forged ahead (with full support from their much in the dark husbands Jim and Monty), pulled money out of their personal accounts and pursued their daughters’ dreams.
Many of the features that are a mainstay with the prom have been in place since that first year: Dance lessons (because we wanted to make sure that the students were comfortable on the dance floor… thank you Amy R), Themes, Chaperone Costumes, Repair materials for girls dresses, first class decorations, professional photography, top quality DJ, and most importantly an event that honored God. (It has proven that teens can have the time of their life without lewd, immoral behavior) The goal was to create an evening that would be treasured for a lifetime.
God clearly had His hand on our plans (and drove us to our knees in fear in trepidation throughout the entire spring of 2000). 120 students & 30 chaperones attended the first prom at the Denton Radisson Hotel. Until 10 days prior to the first prom not enough students had registered to break even and pay for the hotel and DJ. (For a while Christine and Rita thought they were going to throw one heck of an expensive party for their kids). The “Ever After” prom was a booming success. As the students were leaving, they were looking forward to “next year”. Hmmm… not a one time event.
The Christian Homeschool Prom has sold out of tickets every year since. Prom moved the venue to a larger facility year two with 330 attendees to the theme of “A Victorian Walk in the Park”, 450 to “Twilight in Paris”, 600 to “Midnight on the Mediterranean” and so on. The Sheraton Hotel provides us with one of the largest venues in the DFW Metroplex. Other moms and dads caught the vision and give graciously and tirelessly to create an unforgettable evening for our students.
We celebrate 10 years of treasured memories in 2009. If you are a parent, we look forward to serving with you; if you are a student, our fervent prayer is that your prom memories are some of the sweetest of your life.