It's a night of appreciation and celebration for theater students from Elizabeth Forward High School. My buddy Norm Candelore took it upon himself to put on a dinner for this year's students because of what they accomplished despite an enormous challenge.
Watch the video on this page to see why this means so much to the students, and why it means just as much to Norm, who grew up in Elizabeth Township.
Monday night, Norm's business, Candelore's Barking Beauties, put on a banquet for the theater group at The Carriage Inn in Elizabeth Township. The special meal was a big thank you from Norm and his business partners to the kids who have been through a lot over the last year.
One week before their opening night for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, fire ripped through their school auditorium. It devastated the venue and destroyed all of their costumes and instruments. The loss was a gut punch, but it wasn't the end of the story.
The community rallied around these amazing kids and their program. Nearby Thomas Jefferson High School offered up its auditorium, a school in West Virginia donated its instruments, and even more support poured in from all over.
Somehow they pulled it all together over the next couple of weeks and the show did go on. Their performance even led the cast to receive eight separate Gene Kelly Awards from the Pittsburgh CLO.
What an amazing group of young men and women, both the students and the staff. They show what you can do in the darkest of times when you do it together.
I know that Norm gets it, along with his team at Candelore's Barking Beauties.
That is what we're all about at Get Marty and I hope you take some inspiration from these folks.
If you need help or you want to become a helper, we want to hear from you.
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