2007 Honor Roll Dancer

Louise Van Vliet

Number of Years Dancing   30

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

President (2 years), 1988 & 1991

Vice President (3 years), 1987, 1996, & 1997

Secretary (1 year), 1977

Treasurer (1 year), 1990

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

Chair of program committee (2 years), 1980, 1981

Member of program committee (4 years), 1978, 2001, 2003, 2006

Chair of Tri-City Folk Dance Festival (2 years), 1979, 2003

Membership committee (1 year), 1990

Newsletter Editor (4 years)

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

Co-chaired New Year's eve party in 1991,

Organized an ethnic bazaar for our 1997 workshop,

Hosted our workshop instructor in Spring 2006 

Proofreader for our 4 year project (2000 - 2004) to convert over 50 years of workshop syllabi into electronic media.  The club has earned over $1000 from sales of this media.

She has also audited the treasurer's books many times.

Number of Raids and Retrievals   None - MVFD does not participate in Raids and Retrievals

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

Demos - Louise has participated in many demos, including Council Day in the Park demos, Dayton Conventions, festivals, nursing homes, and schools.  She also regularly lends her personal costumes to others to wear for demos.

MVFD Workshops - Louise has attended over 40 workshops sponsored by MVFD.

World A'Fair (Dayton International Festival) - Not only has Louise participated in many MVFD demos at World A'Fair, she has performed with the Zivio Slavic Dancers.  She volunteers for the festival by working in the ticket booth and the Slavic club booth.

Introduction of others to dance - As a professor at Miami University, Louise had access to many young minds.  She regularly brought students from Miami Univerisity to dance with MVFD, introducing them to the joys of international folk dancing.  For 3 years, she taught a History of Oxford honors class for which she hired a Dayton caller to lead her students through traditional American dances for one class.

Honor Roll Dancer Nomination Skits - Louise is single handedly responsible for attendance at the MVFD Annual Business Meetings.  For the last 10 years, she has brilliantly organized hillarious skits about our honor roll nominees.  Our members love these skits and look forward to them each year, eager to find out who our nominee is and what Louise is going to do to them.  Wait until she sees what we've got for her this year - payback time!

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

Although Louise has not served in an office of the Council, she has served the Council by helping out at several Michael Solomon Pavilion Cleaning Days, by weeding Pavilion flower beds, and by participating in Council Day in the Park Demos.

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

None

State & National Conventions Attended

Ohio State Convention, 1991, 1995, 2001, 2006

In addition to Ohio conventions,  Louise has attended the week long Kentucky Dance Institute.

Attach a Write Up (Include all information about applicant that might be of importance to the Selection Committee)

MUST BE TURNED IN TO THE COUNCIL SECRETARY BY THE NOVEMBER COUNCIL MEETING!

8/26/00

Write Up

Louise began dancing with the Miami Valley Folk Dancers in 1976.  And we've never been the same. 

Louise is one of the most creative and outgoing members we have ever had.  Any time someone new walks in, she is one of the first to greet them.  She has personally brought many new people to dance, including many students from Miami University.  She makes it a point to know each member's name and each visitor’s name.  She is instrumental in getting members of our club to interact and know each other better, and she does it in amazingly creative ways - including her "Mystery Dancer" contests, "Name that Dance" contests, and her hillarious skits about our honor roll dancer nominees.  In fact, for the last 10 years Louise has organized these skits, presenting them at our annual business meeting.  Our members always look forward to Louise's next burst of creativity.

Louise is always willing to serve our club and has served as President, Vice-President, Secretary, Program Committee Chair, Workshop Chair, Newsletter Editor, and on many committees.  She has audited our books and cleaned up our messes.  She has participated in demos, hosted workshop leaders, proofread syllabi, organized an ethnic bazaar, chaired parties, and decorated the pavilion.  Even though she has no partner, she willingly assumes the male or female role in dances that require partners.  Few people are so willing to give so much of themselves.

Of course, we are not the only group who has enjoyed Louise's selflessness.  She has helped out at Miami Valley Dance Council hosted dance conventions, participated in Pavilion Cleaning Days, and weeded the Pavilion flower beds.  She was a member of the Zivio Slavic Dancers for many years and had the wonderful opportunity to perform with them in Yugoslavia in 1987.  In her non-dance time, she is involved in civic organizations such as the Dayton Literary Council and League of Women Voters; and she serves as a Court Advocate for Severely Abused Children, and English as a Second Language instructor.

As a long time professor at Miami University, besides bringing students to dance, Louise  brought dance to students.  For 3 years, she taught a living history honors course for which she hired a Dayton caller to lead her students through traditional American dances as part of the course.

If every member of every club did half of what Louise does for the dance community, the dance community would be friendlier and larger than our wildest dreams.  Louise is the most humble of people and does not care for any accolades or honors.  She will say that she has done nothing.  But we know better, and this honor is long overdue.  The Miami Valley Folk Dancers are thrilled to name Louise Van Vliet as the 2007 MVFD Honor Dancer and nominee to the Miami Valley Dance Council Honor Roll Dancers.