It was a brainstorm that led to something big when Carol Cardwell and her daughter Tiffany Aukerman decided to support a favorite cause by holding a fashion show featuring high school seniors.
And thus was born Lights-Camera-Fashion! It was held Tuesday night at the Henry Strater Theatre to a standing-room-only crowd of friends and family who were there to cheer them on. Cardwell Aukerman Photography documented it all for posterity.
Cardwell happened to have lunch with Harlene Russell as arrangements were coming together, only to learn her friend had spent 20 years as a runway model and seven years as a teacher at the Barbizon School of Modeling. Russell didn’t even have to be recruited – she volunteered to handle the training portion of the duties and direct the show. So while most kids were working and traveling, a group of high school students from around the region were learning to walk gracefully (and fast) in high heels and mastering the hand-on-cocked-hip pose familiar to anyone who has ever watched a movie star on a red carpet.
It’s the around-the-region part I liked the most. The young women hailed from Grace Preparatory Academy and Durango, Animas, Big Picture, Bayfield, Mancos, Dolores and Montezuma-Cortez high schools. Many were athletes and leaders, others were active in their churches and enjoyed working with animals, and, to a woman, they were goal-oriented, with career aspirations such as working in pediatric oncology, biomedical engineering and equine therapy for troubled kids.
The models were Melissa Napier, Tessa Powell, Jenna Sirios, Grace Harvey, Shayla Walker, Kenzie Marciante, Alexis Maria, Taylor Forsythe, Amy Raulston, Montana Harris, Lilli Hinman, Carrie Yost, Brianna Schwartz, Bernadette Bianchi, Katy Funkhouser, Natalie Neve, Brooke Schultheis and Imari Black.
Jill Badalati, the new owner of Silk Sparrow, not only provided the fashions, she helped organize the outfits and introduced the models. Another enjoyable aspect of the show was that her selections actually looked like clothes the young women would wear in their daily lives.
Lemon Head Hair Salon donated the hair and makeup styling, although thus adorning beautiful young women is somewhat akin to gilding the lily.
Interspersed among the fashions – and allowing for some costume changes – was a wide variety of entertainment. Shayla, Alexis, Brianna and Bernadette opened the festivities with a dance they choreographed themselves. The Durango High School Dance Team performed two dance numbers, and Brooke performed “If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn” with Chris Beach and Sam Howard. Meiko Gilliam, a Four Corners rap artist, understood his audience, slowing down the lyrics at the end because he knew a lot of the audience was older than 40.
The Strater Hotel donated use of the theater, and Patty Parker did a fine job of recruiting gold sponsors First National Bank of Durango and Brennan Oil, Alpine Bank to sponsor the radio ads, and the Wells Group as the bronze sponsor. A number of local businesses and individuals donated items for the silent auction after being approached by LaDonna Manore.
The show ended up with a grand finale, as the models, garbed in beautiful cocktail dresses, made the stage glow. I’m guessing none of these girls will lack a date to the next dance after the young men in the audience saw them all glammed up.
Four young men scored the best gig in town as their escorts in the finale. Chris and Sam were joined by Brendon Heck and Preston Hardy.
Of course, it was important to remember why everyone was there. Manna Soup Kitchen’s “Packs of Love” makes sure that children who qualify for free or reduced lunches don’t go hungry when the weekend comes. Kathy Tonnessen, the new executive director at Manna, showed people what the backpacks look like.
The packs include items such as canned ravioli, canned vegetables, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal and now, thanks to a gift of a machine to vacuum pack vegetables and fruit, fresh produce as well.
Manna began the backpack program in 2010, when it averaged 20 packs a month. That number went up to 75 packs a month in 2011, and 200 in 2012. This year, Manna is up to a whopping 500 per month. I’m glad to know all those families are eating, but I’m horrified to think the need is that great.
The good news is that Manna will find it easier to fulfill that need after receiving a check for more than $4,100 from all these people’s efforts. While a lot of the food is donated, it would cost about $15 a pack if Manna had to buy all the components. That money will go a long way.
Young people helping kids who are less fortunate is a win-win for everyone.
HHH
Getting a three-day weekend for their birthdays are Naomi Griffith, Sam Burns, Stephanie Dial, Chelsey Helling, Barbara Fedder, Justice Tower, Jenny Hancock, Susan Davies, Geri Swingle, Mary Nowotny, Cynthia Cathcart, Pat Emmett, Carol Bruno, Wilma Cooper, Heather Lundquist, Bob Houghton, Hunter Schermer and Essie Williams.
HHH
If the roar of motorcycles on our roads this weekend is making you want to hit the open road on two wheels – but there’s a hitch, because you don’t actually own a motorcycle – then the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County has a feel-good solution.
Tony Siekman may have lost his battle with lymphoma in 2011, but his support of young people and the Boys and Girls Club continues. His family has donated Siekman’s prized motorcycle to be auctioned off to support the club.
The motorcycle is available for viewing at Handlebar Motorsports, 346 South Camino del Rio. It’s a 1996 Yamaha Royal Star 13AT Tour Classic.
Bidding is now under way at www.bgclaplata.org and closes at 5 p.m. Monday.
When the Boys and Girls Club opened six years ago, it filled a pressing need, providing not only a safe but also a nurturing place for young people after school and during the summer.
The club charges only $15 per child per year, so it’s affordable for everyone. But the club’s cost per student is $800, so you can see where I’m going with this. It takes a lot of fundraising and community support to balance the budget. If you’d been thinking about purchasing a motorcycle, here’s a way to do it guilt-free.
But please do me a favor – get some riding lessons, drive defensively and wear a helmet..
HHH
Labor Day actually means a labor-free day for yours truly, so there won’t be a Neighbors column on Wednesday. Get your calendar out now, because there’s something special happening from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.
Benedicte Valentiner was a Foreign Service officer and manager of Blair House, the guest house where heads of state and heads of government stay in Washington D.C. She held the post under the administrations of presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
To say she got a look at these movers and shakers when they let their hair down would be an understatement. A drunken Boris Yeltsin, or, as she puts it, inebriated, because she was a diplomat after all, or watching Bush père play with his grandchildren. ... She recounts those tales and more in her book Bedtime and Other Stories from the President’s Guest House.
She’ll read from the book and sign copies at the event.
HHH
Nothing says happy anniversary like time to enjoy each other’s company for Russell and Lu Leidy and David and Marcy Pugh.
HHH
Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com or phone 375-4584.
