Lanie learned to square dance in 1981 with the Roseburg Buckaroos while in high school. Life took Lanie in a different direction after high school, but never forgot her love for dancing (she still has her first dance dress; however it is too tight to wear any more). Lanie returned to dancing in 2002 with the Capital 8’s and served as Vice-president and president for a short time, once the Capital 8’s closed the doors she danced with the Funtastic Squares. Lanie was the treasurer for Mid-Winter in 2007 and 2008. She took a couple of years off and returned to dancing with Salem Swingin’ Stars in 2011 where she met Danny. Danny learned to dance in 2009 and actually took mainstream and plus lessons at the same time. His love for dancing was known to everyone. No matter where he was or who was around you could find him trying to recruit new dancers. After Danny and Lanie were married in 2012, Lanie became the president of the Salem Swingin’ Stars and in 2013; Danny took on the position of Membership Chair with the club. This made Danny’s love for dancing even more evident to the world. He spent many hours weeks before lessons started posting flyers in every location he could find that would let him post in Salem, Keizer and Silverton, he would even go back to make sure that the flyers were still up and then go take them down once lessons started (that is if he could remember all of the locations that he posted fliers). As membership chair he would call the new dancers if they missed a lesson to see if they were okay or if there was an issue. Of course there were issues at times, but he always gracefully handled the situation and many times he got the dancers to come back for more lessons. Danny’s passion for dancing wasn’t confined to just lessons. He loved to dress up as the Chicken for the Salem Swingin’ Stars annual Corn-n-Cluck dance. He would spend hours making stage props and working out the details to make sure everyone at the dance was guaranteed to have fun. When the Salem Swingin’ Stars decided to have a Hobo dance and he realized that one of the dictionary meanings of hobo was “migrant worker” he spent time researching some of the history and not only made the hobo dances fun and exciting but also a time to educate everyone on a little history. Danny always made sure that Lanie had cooked up 3 large pots of Hobo stew, one with beef, one with chicken and a vegetarian. The stew was a delight for all that came to the dance and especially true for those who were able to take some home for an extra meal. Danny’s professional career was in masonry, specifically concrete finishing, he took it upon himself to fix the breaking sidewalk at the Salem Square Dance center and painted the yellow markings on the sidewalks to help make getting from the dancer’s car to the dance floor safer. Anytime that there was something he could do around the hall to help, no matter when Barbra Tipton would call, he would be willing to drop everything and go help with whatever was needed. Danny & Lanie Rickard have held many club officer positions, and were treasurer for Mid-Winter Festival in 2007 and 2008. Danny’s love for dancing lives on in our memories of his smile and infectious laughter.
Dave Cooper began square dancing in Tom Adamson's class, and graduated in 1994. Shortly thereafter, he dove in and never looked back. He and his wife Barbie started the Rockin' Renegades with friends Joe Maxwell and Ronnie Wiser. They also started a youth group, the Renegade Ponies. As an elementary school teacher, Dave taught his students to dance each year. No dance was too far away or too insignificant to attend. They dances, recruited new dancers, and help make every event fun. Always trying to grow the activity, Dave never met a person he could not reel into the dance community.
Dave and Barbie, with a group of their Central Oregon students started the Sundown Round Dance Club. Dave taught many classes, and reached out to home school groups to teach for PE credit.
Dave never lacks for ideas to make festivals and regular dances fun. He loved stealing banners, toilet seats, doors... anything for a joketo keep 'em laughing and dancing. Dave chaired an Oregon Summer Festival one year, and painted a truck and camper yellowto travel and promote.
After Barbie's death in 2007, Dave met Patty Reese, and the continued to serve on the Federation board, started another club in Central Oregon, and traveled around Oregon to cue and meet new friends. David chaired the 2014 Summer Festival in Prineville, started a fall campout and dance event that drew dancers from around the state to Shaniko, Mitchell and Rainbow, Oregon.
In 2016, Dave and Patty moved to Port Orford and revitalized Patty's home club, the Beachcombers. He became caller and instructor. He recruited students in grocery stores, coffee shops, and started driving school bus to get drivers and students to take lessons. Largely through his efforts, the club has grown from 4 members to 30.
Dave isn't entirely a showman, he also does the invisible jobs. He sweeps floors, hauls water when the well goes dry, and mows the field. He's all about going the extra mile for the daners, because he knows without them this activity is done.
It is an honor and privilege to nominate Henry Tom and Janice Sminia for the 2023 Randall Award. Tom and Janice have danced with the Tualatin Valley Council for many years with a number of clubs. For the many years the Sunset Promenaders have been their home club. Tom & Janice started their dancing activity with the Toe Draggers and 4 N 8’ers but were visitors at many clubs. As soon as they became proficient dancers, they started making a difference by taking on some of the tough jobs to keep Square Dancing the healthy, fun family activity of choice. They repeatedly served as President, Vice President, and Secretary of their club then have gone on to serve in many positions of the Tualatin Valley Council including, but not limited to President for more than one term. When Oregon took on the job of hosting the National Convention, Tom and Janice were instrumental in making the event a huge success. They were the Chairman of the Program Book and produced a publication that was helpful to the dancers and (I believe for the first time in history) profitable. Not only were they doing all the tasks necessary to produce the produce a fantastic program book, they also joined us in working on the Ways and Means Committee even traveling to the other conventions to display and sell our Oregon wares to help fund the convention. They were so helpful; they should have been named as our Co-Chairman for Ways and Means. Whenever a job needs to be done, Tom and Janice are always willing to step up to the plate and get the task accomplished. Making the Seaside Sashay a success for the Sunset Promenaders and the Hayshakers was in large part due to Tom & Janice’s willingness to put in the time in promoting the event. They also worked throughout the weekend to ensure that everything ran smoothly and every dancer had a great time. Not only are they a great asset to square dancing, they make a difference wherever they see a need. After hurricane Katrina they spent a lot of time living in their travel trailer while helping with the clean-up and preparation for rebuilding the south. Tom and Janice are helpful and caring to all of us in the dancing world.