Hometown dancers honored with Joel Ferrell award
July 29th, 2008
By Katrina Moton
DETROIT — Two dancers from Michigan’s Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts Club were presented with the prestigious Joel Ferrell Outstanding Performance Memorial Award on the final day of dance competition at the 2008 AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Kathlene Copeland, 18, and Grant Haralson, 17, received the award which recognizes the athletic ability and sportsmanship of an athlete representing each official sport at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Haralson, of Sterling Heights, is the Gold medalist in the tap dance solo performance category as well as a Silver medalist for swing dance duet performance at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
More than 10,000 audience members had the chance to see the Cousino High School student perform his swing dance duet at the Celebration of Athletes at Eastern Michigan University on July 28.
Copeland, of Clinton township, won 1st place for her modern dance routine in the advanced level category. She is a student at Sterling Heights High School.
The award is presented in memorial of Joel Ferrell, a former aerospace engineer, who held several positions with the AAU, including the presidency from 1976-78. He was also a vice president of the United States Olympic Committee. In December 1988, he passed away in his hometown of Tullahoma, Tenn.
For additional information on the AAU Junior Olympic Games visit www.aaujrogames.org.
