By Amber Garzon
Recently, the Sterling
High School NJROTC celebrated its eighth annual Winter Ball. And so you may
be wondering what exactly the Winter Ball is? Well every year the cadets in the
Sterling NJROTC get together to plan this traditional military dining out. It’s
an evening where the cadets come together in a night of celebration and
tradition. It also gives the cadets a chance to prove how gentlemen and
lady-like they can be, but in the end it’s a time for building fond memories.
The night is filled with lots of dancing, dinner and dessert, guest speakers,
toasts, pictures, and so much more!
This year the cadets decided to go host the Winter Ball at Aulletos Catering
located in Woodbury, NJ. The night started at five p.m. and ended about nine p.m. The cadets and their guests/dates started the evening by lining up by
couple in a traditional receiving line to walk down the raised sword arch. The
male cadets of course were looking sharp in their NJROTC uniforms, as were the
female cadets/guests in their beautiful gowns and dresses. The couples were
announced formally and then proceeded to walk down the sword arch, where the
introduction of the VIPs of the ball took place. The male introduced
himself and his date to each VIP one by one and offered a handshake. Once through
the receiving line the couples continued onto their assigned tables and awaited
the arrival of their fellow table members.
After the receiving line was finished, everyone rose for the
invocation and then the singing of the National Anthem. The cadet-based color
guard would then present the colors during the National Anthem, which was
immediately followed by some selected cadets carrying out covers, aka hats of
each service branch, and placing them on what is known as the POW table. After
doing so, Sr.Chief proceeded by narrating the meanings of each of the other
items placed on the table.
Furthermore, the guest speaker, a former NJROTC cadet and student of Sterling
High School, now attending his senior year at the United States Naval Academy,
made a memorable speech. Afterwards the cadets were allowed to finally, by
table, to go up and get their food for the dinner portion of the evening. The
buffet-styled food had a wide selection, including assorted pastas, meats, salads,
soups, fruits, mashed potatoes, and fresh vegetables. Dessert was provided
further into the night, where the cadets made their very own personal sundaes.
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| The ROTC winter ball was held on February 11, 2012 |
As mentioned previously, the night is full of traditions. For example, every
year, one first year male/female cadet is selected as the position of Mr. /
Miss Vice. The cadets and their guests are seated at their assigned tables, with the
head table up front where the head of the ball and the VIPs of the ball are
seated. Then, there is the Vices’ table, set aside away from everyone else, and
they are the ones from who the cadets/guests request permission to use the
restroom, get more food, make a toast, etc… They are given the choice of saying
yes or no, and if they say no then the one who made the request must sit down
and ask again at a later time. Also some selected cadets stand up and propose
toasts to each of the service branches, such as the President of the United
States and of course to the Sterling High School Navy Knights!
In addition, there were also spies at each table that monitor the table guests
to see whether or not they are using proper manners, such as pulling the chair
out for the ladies, keeping their elbows off the table, chewing with their mouths
closed, etc… When the dinner portion of the evening was finished, the spies were
called up to explain to every one what they saw their table do wrong that
evening. However, no one at a table knows who the spy was as their table
until then.
Finally, the DJ began to turn the music up and the cadets piled on the dance floor. There was always someone dancing and whenever someone was sitting down you can bet there was someone else going over and trying
to get them on the dance floor. All the traditional dance songs were played,
mixed in with all types of music from country to pop to rock. And of course
there were always the slow songs where the couples come together and dance. The
most memorable part of the night was when the last slow song was played in
memory of the singer and actress Whitney Houston, who had recently died.
The Winter Ball is an evening where cadets and guests alike really enjoy each
other's company and appreciate it as well. The memories built are long-lasting
and the new friends and acquaintances made are worth it. But everything
has to end sometimes, even when you may not want them to. But when this
one did, it can be said that everyone that went absolutely enjoyed themselves.
Its time to start planning next year’s!
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