Reader's Report: Prom to Remember Fundraiser for Willis Peters Students

The following report was submitted by Dorinda Rountree, executive secretary of the Hillsborough County School District's Area VI district office, about the annual Willis Peters Exceptional Student Education Center prom and prom fundraiser. The prom each year is held at the Brandon Elks Lodge, where the event facility space is offered to the students at no charge. The fundraiser typically is held there a week before the prom, which features as its main attraction Dennis Lee and his band.

Lee calls it "a labor of love," his decades-long commitment to Willis Peters, adjacent to Dover Elementary School in Dover, Fla. The center serves students, ages 3 through 22, with limited intellectual functioning and other disabilities, such as deafness and visual, language, speech, and physical impairments.

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By Dorinda Rountree

For the past several years I have coordinated and held a fundraiser dinner-dance to raise money for Willis Peters Exceptional Student Education Center students to enjoy a prom type event.

Many of you who know Leslie Morris know that her late husband, Don, had started this fundraiser approximately 12 years ago. In memory of Don Morris I took on the event and will continue to as long as I am able.

(See Related Coverage below.)

For those of you who are not aware, the fundraiser is held at the Brandon Elks Lodge. The food is provided by Brandon (steak and chicken, baked potato, salad, dessert) and I have lined up a terrific deejay — DJ Tony Party Time — to provide the entertainment for the evening.

This year, the adults-only fundraiser will be held March 24.

Tickets cost $20 per person and the last day for ticket sales is March 9. Checks should be made payable to "Brandon Elks Lodge #2383."

Last year we sold 161 ticket. My goal this year is to sell 200 tickets.

Please support the children of  Willis Peters Exceptional Center with the purchase of a ticket, or a donation.

The prom for the students is set for May 5. 

All proceeds from the dinner-dance fundraiser pay for the prom, including decorations, flowers, food and entertainment. The Brandon Elks Lodge provides the hall for the event. 

Please extend this invitation to friends that might enjoy a fun night out for a terrific cause. Together we can make a night of wonderful and fun memories for these students. 

For information, call me at 813-707-7050. Or, the Brandon Elks Lodge, at 813-685-6469. 

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RELATED COVERAGE:

• Willis Peters Exceptional Student Education Center Hosts Fundraiser for Prom at Brandon Elks Lodge (MyPaperNow.com, May 2, 2010)

• Prom Night at the Elks Lodge for Willis Peters Exceptional Student Education Center (MyPaperNow.com, May 8, 2010)