Once again, Tim Shields (DDF Drama Coach) and I gratefully applaud the support the Drama, Debate, and Forensics team enjoys in this community. It’s wonderful that the town gets it: DDF is a tremendous compliment to the school’s educational curriculum, providing experiences, training, and opportunities for self-improvement that will serve our kids well for the rest of their lives.

It takes a tremendous amount of work to make the program happen, and for the past few years it wouldn’t have been successful without the hundreds of volunteer hours contributed by Lisa Schwartz, Cindy Buxton, Russ White, and other parents who assist with the local meet and fundraising events.

The meet literally couldn’t take place without the eighty-five local judges who volunteer to adjudicate the twelve acting, speaking, and debate events, or all of the families that house the students from other schools.

We also want to thank Paul Nelson of Bigfoot Auto for donating the use of the school bus to shuttle kids to command performances at the Chilkat Center, Suzanne Newton for driving the bus, and of course Mountain Market for their generous donation of coffee that helps fuel the whole, manic weekend.

We had another great meet. All of the teams and coaches love coming to Haines. I hope we can do it again next year.

Gershon Cohen, Haines DDF Debate/Speech Coach