An Eagle pg 12 12-8-11
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- Category: Past Issues
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Seniors' Prom
Daniel Kellaway, seated on floor, put together a Seniors' Prom for Pomfret senior citizens Dec. 4 as his Eagle Scout project. Linda Lemmon photo.
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Festivities
Pomfret senior citizens, gathered around to chat and drink punch at the recent Seniors' Prom, the Eagle Scout project by Daniel Kellaway. Photo courtesy of Ginny Eaton.
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
POMFRET --- It might have been nippy outside the Pomfret Senior Center, but it was all warmth and laughs inside at the Dec. 4 Seniors' Prom.
And at the center of the festivities was Daniel Kellaway, Pomfret resident and Eagle Scout candidate.
A student at Pomfret School, Kellaway said he was thinking outside the box when coming up with an Eagle Scout project. Most Eagle Scout candidates work on a physical project: landscaping, bridge building and more.
But Kellaway was on a different track.
“As I asked around the town of Pomfret about potential Eagle Scout project ideas, everyone mentioned Pomfret seniors and the Senior Center, Kellaway said.
He added, "I heard a lot about our own Senior Center here in Pomfret. It seemed to be relatively new and in a period of transition. Immediately, my mind started turning about how to bring local attention to the Senior Center. A large, exhilarating event such as a ‘Seniors’ Prom’ seemed like the perfect way to do that."
"I'm a people person, not a landscaper person," he said. He started working on it in August.
When he got to work on the prom he discovered that he had to keep explaining and explaining and explaining again what he was doing because it was not the traditional Eagle Scout project. His second surprise was the generosity of the folks who offered to help.
Classmates helped with music, logistics, food, driving, even making punch and hanging coats. Prom attendees were each photographed in their holiday finery.
The 15 to 20 attendees seemed to have a fine time. Every time another friend came in, more tables were shoved together and the revelry continued.
"What I love most about this project is how it even goes beyond the Senior Center. It’s about local seniors above all and bringing attention to their role in the community, their ideas and concerns, and their activities," Kellaway said.
"I was surprised that people didn't know the senior center existed. So now they do."