Students Serve Up Dinner-Dancing For Senior Citizens

Albert and Alice Kretz have been married for 58 years, and for the last 15 years they have always looked forward to the “Back To School” dinner dance at Mentor High School.

“As long as the Lord lets us, we’re here for the dinner-dance,” said Albert. “We always have a very nice time here.”

Renee Ochaya, director of the Mentor Senior Citizen Center, and Mentor High School students, teachers and administrators, coordinated the dinner-dance for  about 70 senior citizens last Friday evening at Mentor High School’s cafeteria.

Seniors citizens enjoyed chicken dinners cooked by Mentor’s school cafeteria staff and served by administrators, teachers and students.

“The dinner-dance is a tradition that (Mentor High School’s) National Honor Society participates in every year,” said Ronald Lucarelli, president of the Mentor High School’s National Honor Society. “It’s a big event that we enjoy.”

In addition to National Honor Society, students of Mentor High School’s Future Leaders of America also participated in the dinner-dance.

Following dinner, students socialized and danced with senior citizens. The Billy Kaye Band provided musical entertainment.

“I think it’s important to interact with older generations because we can learn from them, which is important for our future as well,” said Tessa Wagner, who serves as secretary for Mentor’s National Honor Society.