2002 Honor Dancers

Carole and John Pappas

Number of Years Dancing   27 years with MVFD

Club Elected Positions and Years Held (Pres., VP, Sec., etc.)

John:  Chair (4 yrs),  Vice-Chair (2 yrs),  Secretary (1 yr)

Carole:  Chair (3 yrs),  Vice-Chair (1 yr),  Secretary (1 yr)

Club Appointed Positions and Years Held (Kitchen Chairperson, etc.)

John:  Program Committee (2 yrs),  Tape Committee (many yrs)

Carole:  Program Committee (2 yrs)

Service at Club Level (Kitchen, Greeters, Clean-up, Decorate, etc.)

John:  Has taught folk dances to the Miami Valley Folk Dancers (and others) since 1975

Number of Raids and Retrievals   Not Applicable

Special Activities (Organize or Assist with Demos, Weekend & Week long Workshops, Special Dances, Parades, World A’Fair, State Fair, Festivals, etc.)

Chaired workshops, organized demonstrations, active in World A'Fair

M.V.D.C Position and Years Held (Pres., VP, Treasurer, Trustee, etc.)

None

State & National Positions and Years Held (State Corp, State & National Convention Positions, etc.)

None

State & National Conventions Attended

State Convention, 1994, 2001

Led session on international folk dancing in both 1994 & 2001

Write Up

The Miami Valley folk Dancers are pleased to nominate John and Carole Pappas for the 2002 Honor Couple, in recognition of their many years of dedication to the promotion of international folk dancing in the Dayton community.

John and Carole Pappas have been active members of the Miami Valley Folk Dancers (MVFD) since 1974.  Over the years, both John and Carole have been elected to the MVFD Council multiple times, assuming various positions of leadership.  John was first elected to the Council in 1976, serving as secretary in 1976 and Chair in 1977.  He then served as Vice-Chair in 1981 and Chair in 1982, and again as Chair in both 1986 and 1987.  John was Vice-Chair once again in 1991.  Carole was first elected to the MVFD Council in 1978.  She served as secretary in 1978 and as Vice-Chair in 1979.  Carole then served as Chair in 1980, 1983, and 1984.

During the years they were not on Council, both Carole and John were often appointed to committees.  John, for example, was appointed to the Program Committee in 1975 and 1990, and Carole was appointed to the Program Committee in 1996 and 2001.  In addition, John served for many years on the tape committee, and was responsible for taping the MVFD collection of 78 records.  He is currently on a committee appointed to review the membership portion of the MVFD Rules and Regulations.

Throughout the years, both Carole and John have been influential in bringing expert instructors of international dance to the Miami Valley Folk Dancers.  They have chaired many weekend and evening workshops, and often hosted the instructors in their home.  As a result, the Miami Valley Folk Dancers have experienced the music and dances of many countires, including Hungary, Poland, Greece, Macedonia, Slovenia and Israel.  Most recently, John chaired a Macedonian folk dance workshop in November, 2000.

John has had a strong influence on the group through his expert teaching of folkdancing.  He is often called upon to teach and review Macedonian, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian and Israeli dances.  He does so with energy and enthusiasm.  Carole and John have also demonstrated German, Irish and Israeli couple dances on Thursday evenings.  John recently participated in the 2001 State Dance Convention, leading a session on international folk dancing.

Both Carole and John have participated in many MVFD community demonstrations of folk dancing, performing at area festivals and nursing homes.  In related activities, John is currently President of the South Slavic Club, and an active member of DIFI, which sponsors the World A'Fair.  He has also served for many years as a choreographer for the Zivio dancers.

John and Carole Pappas deserve to be recognized for their active support of the Miami Valley Folk Dancers since 1974, and their many contributions to the promotion of international folk dancing in the Dayton area.