OVERVIEW AND APPLICATION

THE 2016 SPRING LEADERSHIP BALLin service to

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2016 Spring Leadership Ball in service to

Feeding Medina County

Congratulations on your accomplishments as you embark on your senior year of high school! This Spring Leadership Ball website is designed to provide you with the tools needed to successfully apply to be one of the 30 Honorees at the 2016 Spring Leadership Ball of Medina County. The 2016 Ball will be the 58 th annual in Medina County history and the third to be sponsored by Feeding Medina County. Feeding Medina County is honored to be a partner in this wonderful tradition in Medina, spotlighting outstanding young women who have distinguished themselves in their schools and communities.

This application process allows all applicants to maintain anonymity. Applicants may provide additional, brief comments on Parts I, II, &/or III if they feel it is necessary for clarity; providing they do not use their names or any identifying remarks that will hamper the integrity of this process.

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2016 SPRING LEADERSHIP BALL

If selected as a 2016 Honoree, the young women will participate in the following functions:

ORIENTATION

Honorees and their mothers, stepmothers or guardians are asked to attend this informational gathering on Sunday, November 15, 2015 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. held at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 400 N. Broadway, Medina. At this time, members of the Spring Leadership Ball Committee will explain the various activities associated with the event and will answer any questions honorees and parents may have. The young ladies will be introduced and have the opportunity to meet one another and the various Spring Leadership Ball committeewomen with whom they will be working.

FORMAL STAIRCASE PHOTOGRAPH

A formal staircase photo is taken and will appear in a local newspaper in the spring. The photo shoot has been scheduled for Saturday, March 12, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Medina Country Club, 5588 Wedgewood Rd. Honorees will wear their white ball gowns and be photographed together and separately. All dresses and ball attire must meet final approval by this date.

FORMAL TEA

This event is attended by the 2016 Honorees and their mothers, stepmothers or guardians. Joining the honorees and their special family members will be various distinguished guests, the Spring Leadership Ball committee members, and members of Feeding Medina County. This delightful afternoon for the young women and their guests enables them to mingle with each other and to be recognized by all in attendance. The tea will be Sunday, April 25, 2016 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Williams on the Lake.

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FORMAL HONOREE PRESENTATION

This is a very formal affair to be held at the Weymouth Country Club Ballroom (3946 Weymouth Rd., Medina) on Saturday, April 30, 2016. The event will combine past tradition with modern leadership honors. Formal recognition is given to all the young ladies as they are presented as The 2016 Spring Leadership Ball Honorees in a setting filled with family and friends. Included in this application is “The Story of the Cotillion,” highlighting some of the traditions of the dance and the required accomplishments of young women as they debut into society. After the Cotillion dance is completed, the evening will continue with dinner and dancing.

*Additional functions can include: a "get-to-know-you" pampering night for the young women, a social event for honorees & their escorts, and a service experience in partnership with Feeding Medina County. More information will be provided at a later date.

THE STORY OF THE COTILLION

According to tradition, debutantes were formally introduced at a grand ball. The word debutante comes from the French word, “debuter,” which means “to lead off.” The tradition has roots, as many of our customs do, in England where the Debutante Year is the finale for four years of philanthropic, cultural and social training. The debutante’s presentation welcomes her into a world of civic responsibility and social awareness.

Our Spring Leadership Ball evening begins with the formal presentation of our honorees to the guests. Each young lady is accompanied by her presenter and her escort. Her biographical information is read as she is spotlighted and presents a bouquet of flowers to her mother.

The cotillion dance is a formal patterned dance. All the dance participants do the same steps at the same time in a specified manner. In Victorian times, this would represent young girls being introduced into society by their parents. It was considered their “coming-out” party, and from that time on, the girls were considered “young ladies."

In 2016, this night represents the recognition of young women of Medina County for their contributions to their schools, communities and employers. Feeding Medina County is proud to be a part of spotlighting these accomplished young women.

A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF OUR SPRING LEADERSHIP BALL EVENT:

The Spring Leadership Ball Formal Presentation: The honoree enters and bows. This is her “thank you” for the honor given her by her parents. She is then joined by her presenter and escort. *In an earlier time, proper young ladies were considered fragile and had to be escorted in public. The presenter does not take her hand, but rather, lets her place her hand on his. Her escort takes her elbow.

The honoree greets her mother: She is giving honor to her mother as she curtsies and presents her mother a bouquet of flowers.

Each honoree then exits the ballroom following her presentation, awaiting her return for the beginning of the cotillion dance.

The Cotillion Dance: The honoree and her presenter face each other, in symbolic tradition of asking permission to dance with her escort. Her presenter takes her hand and twirls her to face her escort, which means he has given his consent. They bow to each other in a formal greeting and they get into dance position. When the music begins, they enjoy the formal dance.

Walking March: The presenter joins the honoree and escort. They walk briskly in formations.

Presenter’s Introduction: The presenter reaches behind the honoree and taps the escort on the shoulder signifying that he is asking for the next dance with the honoree. They bow to each other to say “thank you” for the dance. The escort leaves as the presenter and honoree then bow to each other in greeting and they dance in the circle.

Closing: The presenter and honoree finish their dance, the escort then joins them, and they all face the audience and bow.

The Grand March: Presenters leave the dance floor. The honorees and escorts all prepare to perform the grand march. Historically, the grand march signified a debutante's official entrance into proper society where she could now be escorted by someone other than her father.

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2016 Honoree Spring Leadership Ball Obligations

There will be a $150.00 registration fee for each of the 30 young women selected. The fee is non-refundable if the young lady decides to withdraw after accepting her selection. This fee includes a ticket for the honoree and her escort to the ball on April 30, 2016. Individual reservations for family and friends will be $65 each and available for purchase prior to the Ball.

There will be a family sponsorship page noted in the 2016 Spring Leadership Ball Program. (Details of this opportunity will be available at the Orientation Reception.)

Each honoree will be asked to give of her time for at least one service opportunity for Feeding Medina County located at 901 Lafayette Road Medina. The Spring Leadership Ball Committee is honored to partner with Feeding Medina County.

The Orientation Reception (required for the honorees and their mothers/stepmothers/guardians) is on Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 400 N. Broadway, Medina.

The Formal Staircase Photograph will be taken on Saturday, March 12, 2016, 10:00 a.m. at Medina Country Club, 5588 Wedgewood Rd., Medina.

The Formal Tea will be held on Sunday, April 24, 2016 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Williams on the Lake, 787 Lafayette Road, Medina

A long, pure white, bouffant or semi-bouffant ball gown of elegant taste is the honoree's attire for the evening of the Spring Leadership Ball. (If selected as a 2016 Honoree, detailed gown requirements are provided.)

White shoes, with flat or medium heels must be worn for the ball. There must be at least a strap across the heel.

Formal gloves must be plain, white, opera length (past the elbow) and have no lace.

If you have a tattoo, it must be completely concealed by your dress.

You may wear one set of simple stud earrings. Escorts and presenters are not to wear earrings or any other jewelry, with the exception of a ring or watch. The honoree, escort, and presenter are not permitted to wear face piercing decorations. If you have a question as to whether something is appropriate, please contact one of the Spring Leadership Ball Committee members.

Presenters must wear full dress tails, as chosen by the Ball Committee. Escorts must wear a black tuxedo, as designated by the Ball Committee. Both presenters and escorts must rent the tuxedo from the designated vendor. Both must wear black dress shoes and black socks.

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Spring Leadership Ball Event Dress CodeIn keeping with the historical customs of cotillions and formal teas of the past, we respectfully request

adherence to these guidelines.

The wearing of blue jeans is inappropriate at any function of the

Spring Leadership Ball.

BALL REHEARSAL DRESS CODE :

The Spring Leadership Ball -Saturday, April 30, 2016.

There will be three mandatory rehearsals the week prior to the ball (dates to be announced). Rehearsals begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. and last for approximately 2 ½ hours.

The dress code for rehearsals is as follows:

Honorees: You must wear a skirt or dress, the shoes that you will wear on ball night, and a crinoline slip over your skirt or dress. A substitute for an arm bouquet will also be needed (ex. Teddy bear, tennis racket, stuffed animal).

Escorts: Must wear dress shoes, slacks, jackets and ties.

Family members present for the final dress rehearsal: Gentlemen please wear dress slacks and a dress shirt. Suit jacket and tie are optional. Ladies please wear a dress, skirt or dress slacks. (Suggestion: Please consider trying out your shoes you intend to wear to the ball.)

The above dress is required at all rehearsals!

ORIENTATION AND FORMAL TEA DRESS CODE :

A skirt or dress must be worn by honorees and mothers/stepmothers/guardians to the Orientation Reception and Formal Tea.

*Failure to comply with the above provisions will be cause for disqualification. The registration fee shall be forfeited.

*If there are any questions about these requests, please contact a member of the Spring Leadership Ball Committee for clarification.

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Policies for Selection

Feeding Medina County-Spring Leadership Ball recognizes and honors our future business, community, and family leaders. Therefore, scholarship, leadership and community service are of the utmost importance in the selection criteria. To be eligible to apply, you MUST be a senior high school girl attending school at a Medina County public or private school, be a Medina County resident attending senior high school outside of the county or a senior home-schooled student. Applicants MUST rank academically in the upper 1/3 of their graduating class. Class rank standings will be taken from the most recent semester available at your particular school. Home-schooled applicants’ grades will be compared against the public high school in their district for ranking. Meetings are held throughout the county in the weeks prior to selection. See dates:

Selection consideration is given equally to each of these categories: 1) school activities; 2) community service, and 3) non-school related activities &/or outside employment.

No special recognition or acknowledgement is given for class rank, such as number 1 out of 100.

Selection will be completely impartial and the identity of each applicant will remain unknown while applications are being reviewed. Selection will be made from the activity sheets within the application. All members of the review committee will rate each application on a point system. After each application has been reviewed and rated, the scores will be totaled. Applications are scored on a five (5) point system with five (5) being excellent and one (1) being unsatisfactory. There are three sections to the application and each section is scored separately. When all scores have been tabulated, the thirty applicants with the highest composite point totals will be chosen as the 2016 Spring Leadership Ball Honorees. Only at this time will the identity of the girls selected be revealed. By rating solely according to the application, we hope to maintain an equitable method of selection and have young ladies truly worthy of this honor representing their schools and communities. There is no quota per individual school.

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Application Instructions

These instructions must be followed as you complete the application.

The identification sheet should be completed and signed by your parents or guardians. No application will be accepted without your parent’s/guardian’s signature.

All activity sheets must be signed/verified by your counselor. The counselor’s signature verifies active participation and that you are in the upper 1/3 of your class. No application will be accepted without your counselor’s signature/verification on the top of Part I of the application.

Applications should be typed or neatly printed. Applications may be recreated and completed on the computer. Please follow directions on each page.

When the application is completed, check to make sure that your application number is on your identification sheet, on your activity sheets, and on the outside of the envelope provided. Check to make sure that both your parent/guardian and your counselor have signed your application. Place your Identification Sheet and the Family Agreement sheet, signed by both you and your parent/guardian, in the envelope so that there is no visible identification through the envelope. SEAL THE ENVELOPE. The activity sheets should be STAPLED to the front of the envelope. This envelope (with identification sheet) will not be opened until after the selection is completed.

Return your application to your counselor’s office NO LATER THAN NOON ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015. Members of the 2016 Ball Review Committee will pick up ALL applications. If you attend school outside of Medina County or are home-schooled, please return completed applications to Feeding Medina County Offices, 901 Lafayette Rd. Medina OH 44256 before 2:00 p.m. on October 30, 2015. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS TIME AND DATE. If, for some reason, you cannot personally submit your application by this time, have a friend turn it in for you.

Applications will be read and selection will be made on November 1, 2015. This date will only change in the event school is not in session to enable the scheduled application pickup. All applicants will be notified by mail immediately following this selection. If you are selected, please respond by the date stated in your selection letter to indicate your acceptance of this

honor.

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Identification Sheet

2016 Spring Leadership Ball Honoree Application

in service to

Feeding Medina County

------Please type or print clearly------

Name

Last First Middle

Mailing Address

Street Address

City Zip Code

Home Phone/Cell Phone______________________________________________________________

Email address

School

**Parent or Guardian’s Signature:

Those selected as honorees will receive written acknowledgement on or shortly after November 4, 2015. In addition, acknowledgements will be mailed to the following people:

Name and address of Parent(s)/Guardian(s) with whom you currently reside:

Name and address of other parent (if divorced/separated):

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2016 Spring Leadership Ball Honoree Application

(Please type or print clearly)

Important: Do not put your name on this sheet! Make sure that you write your application number on the upper right hand corner of this page. Make sure this is the same as the number on the envelope in which you have enclosed your Identification Sheet. Counselor’s Signature*

*****COUNSELORS: WITH YOUR SIGNATURE YOU ARE VERIFYING THAT THE APPLICANT IS IN THE TOP ONE THIRD OF THE GRADUATING CLASS AND THAT ALL ITEMS ON THE APPLICATION ARE TRUTHFUL AND AUTHENTIC.

PART I - SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Directions: Following the example format, list only your high school activities. List the organizations in which you were a member and the years you were a member. List the teacher or advisor. Please limit these to ten organizations or committees that were the most important to you. Of these organizations or committees, indicate if you held a position– President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Committee Chairman, etc. In addition, list any honors you have been awarded. If you retype/recreate another sheet, please label clearly as Part I and use the same column headings.

Activity # Name of Club or Activity Grade(s)Participated

Offices Held/Honors Awarded

Name of Adult Advisor/Leader

Example Drama Club 11, 12 Lead role musical – 12 Mr. Jones1

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Additional Honors/Awards: (please list any you have received – use additional sheet, if necessary).

Additional comments (only if necessary for clarity); not required

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PART II – COMMUNITY SERVICE

List services (limit 10) performed during the high school years. List the services that were most important to you. List the calendar years of participation in these services. Then list the estimated number of hours you devoted to these services on a daily, weekly, OR monthly basis (whichever is applicable). Indicate the number of days, weeks, OR months you volunteered for the service. Give a grand total of hours per year for each activity. List an adult leader in charge and a phone number where they can be reached as information may need to be verified. If you are retyping this form, please label it clearly as Part II.Activity # Name of Activity Yr. of

ParticipationHours/Day, Week or Month,Number of Days, Weeks or MonthsTotal Hours…

Name of Adult Leader and Phone Number

Example Hospice Volunteer ’09, ‘10 40 hrs/month1 month/year2 years =80 hrs total

Mrs. Dorothy Allen330-722-8345

Example Bloodmobile ’09, ‘10 7 hrs/day1day/year3 years =21 hrs total

Mrs. Carole Johns330-842-1852

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Additional Honors/Awards: (please list any you have received – use additional sheet, if necessary).

Additional comments (only if necessary for clarity); not required

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PART III – NON-SCHOOL RELATED ACTIVITIES/JOB EXPERIENCE

List any activities in which you have been involved during your high school years that are not related to school. (For example: 4-H, church activities, sport, musical and dance participation.) When listing outside activities, please indicate the activity, the address or phone number of the advisor, the calendar year you were involved, and the number of hours devoted to the activity per week. List your job experiences during the year as well as any summer jobs. When listing job experiences, please indicate the place of employment, the address, names of supervisors, the year you were involved, the average number of hours you worked per week. Please clearly indicate Part III, if you are retyping this sheet.

Activity # Name of Club, Activity or Employer

Yr. of Participation or

Employment

Hours spent per week on activity or job

Name, address, phone number of Adult Advisor/Supervisor

Example Dance ’09, ‘10 Practice 10 hrs/week for 36 weeks

Mrs. Emily Smith, Instructor23 S. Court, Medina330-725-3232

Example Bob Evans Waitress – Summer ‘11

20 hrs/week for 10 weeks Mr. David Jones, Manager, Bob Evans10 Medina Road, Medina330-722-5555

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SPRING LEADERSHIP BALL FAMILY AGREEMENT

We, as a family, agree to abide by the policies set forth by the Spring Leadership Ball Committee as follows:

Adhere to the dress codes for all events Adhere to all deadlines as specified Adhere to ball gown criteria Agree that all participants will attend the mandatory dance rehearsals, per the

given schedule.

In signing this agreement, we also verify that all application guidelines have been met.

_______________________________ _____________________________

Applicant Signature Parent/Guardian Signature

Date_____________________

*If the application guidelines have not been adhered to, your application may not be considered. Please make sure to review your entire application for clarity, authenticity and neatness!

**Agreement is to be signed, dated, and returned with the application in the sealed, numbered envelope.

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