Senior Citizens danced the night away at Prom

Senior citizens had a fantastic time at the 9th Annual Seniors’ Senior Prom titled, “An Evening in Paris,” on Friday, June 21, at The Timbers of Shorewood retirement community, 1100 N. River Rd., Shorewood.

The evening featured dancing, raffles and all the prom trimmings. The Timbers’ ballroom was transformed into the romantic streets of Paris to fit this year’s theme – An Evening in Paris.

A truly special moment was the crowning of the kind and queen of the prom. Timbers residents Richard Zeke Russ and Marie Smeets were crowned king and queen, respectively, and shared the first dance of the evening.

In typical prom fashion, chaperones were on hand making sure the night went smoothly – only these chaperones were local high school students. Joliet West High School senior and National Honor Society member, Naveen Rao, has chaperoned the last three Timbers’ proms and did so again this year. He invited his honor society peers to join him.

The students were present for the entire event and assisted in serving dinner and escorting seniors onto the dance floor throughout the evening.

“It was the first kickoff event of the summer at the Timbers, and I had a blast on the dance floor and hanging out with the seniors,” Rao said. “You get to meet a lot of new people, and it’s so rewarding to be involved with such a community-based event.”

The Del Bergeson Orchestra provided the music of the Big Band era. This 10-piece band has been tempting couples onto the dance floor at 35-40 gigs a year, the Timbers being a favorite.

“It was a wonderful sight to see so many people enjoying themselves,” said Shelly Goggins, activities director at The Timbers of Shorewood. “Del planned an interesting mix of music to dance to – foxtrots, waltzes, cha-chas, and all the rest.”

The Timbers of Shorewood is a rental retirement community which provides independent and assisted living apartments as well as a full schedule of activities and services. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay - a weekend, a week, a month or longer.

For more information call Shelly Goggins at 815-609-0669 or visit http://www.timbersofshorewood.com.