Stand up for manners
Etiquette workshops for teens scheduled in July
By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer
Have you ever experienced this? You are walking through a
door with your arms full of groceries when some kids come through the
other way, leaving you holding the door for them with nary a word of
thanks.
Or this¾ you invite friends over with their children who
arrive without a greeting and leave without a word of thanks or a goodbye.
Do you know children who’re unrelentingly demanding, can’t
hold a conversation, or eat with their mouths open while slumping in their
chairs?
It’s enough to make you grind your teeth and cease
inviting people and their children to do things with you.
We all know how children block out the sound of their
parents’ voices. No matter how much the parents try teaching them
manners it seems to go in one proverbial ear and out the other.
Well, help is on its way. Gretchen Palmer, of Palmer
Talent & Production, and Footlight Dance Centre are offering etiquette
workshops this summer from July 31 to Aug. 10, for teens 13 to 16 years
old.
Can you hear the valley? It’s screaming
"Hallelujah."
Personally, I think this training should come way earlier
in their lives, but gratitude outweighs that desire.
The afternoon workshops will be held at the Sun Valley
Athletic Club in Ketchum. Palmer has lined up several instructors,
including Caroline Woodham, Hilarie Neely, Noelle Hodge, Gretchen Lizotte,
Cathy Reinheimer, and Teri Szombathy.
There will also be a modeling workshop either separate
from or in conjunction with the finishing workshop. Ballroom dancing,
poise, posture, speech and introductions will be taught at the Athletic
Center, and grooming and skin care, which will be taught at Salon Gamine.
Restaurant and table manners will be taught at the Ketchum Grill.
There are many who won’t understand, who believe manners
and etiquette, holding doors, standing up for ladies, using the right
utensil, keeping your mouth closed while masticating are all anachronistic
aspects better left back in the stuffy East Coast. But in reality manners
are a means of expressing respect for one’s companions no matter their
age.
Pre-registration is necessary by July 20. Call Palmer
Talent at 788-4501, or the Athletic Club for more information.
