Buddies show their best fashions

The Every Buddies Beautiful Fashion Show at Plant City High School has grown into a popular production since it was first staged in 2007.

The models include students who are members of the Best Buddies Club, which pairs students who have mental and physical challenges - from blindness to autism - with students from the general school population. Best Buddies is a national program designed to help disabled students face hardships with the help of a mentor.

The Jan. 23 fashion show was organized and sponsored by the Plant City High School Cosmetology Department and Skills USA.

The club members modeled clothes ranging from formal wear to hip-hop; sportswear to casual. Students developed themes, impersonated celebrities and had a good time during the one-hour performance at Plant City High's auditorium.

Proceeds gained from ticket sales and sponsorships helped pay production costs and for other club activities.

The Best Buddies Club at Plant City High was organized during the 2000-2001 school year. The club's adviser, Sandy Denham, a teacher of intellectually disabled students, has been there from the start.

"This year the Best Buddies Club has about 250 members," Denham said. "Most of them are general population students, with 59 special students, each having a Best Buddy, and some having two or three."

Denham said the club offers disabled students a chance to connect with the school's general population.

"Our students build friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime," Denham said. "The special students don't look at themselves as disabled. And the general population students look past all that. The atmosphere around these students makes it a joy for me to come to work every day."

Laurel Ritenbaugh, the daytime cosmetology teacher at the school, and the Skills USA Advisor, recalled how the idea of a fashion show for the Best Buddies Club was born.

"In 2007, one of my cosmetology students, Summer Pippin, was talking about her experience of being the Florida Strawberry Festival queen," Ritenbaugh said. "She was doing Ashley McElroy's hair in our school salon. Ashley said to Summer, 'I'm beautiful, too. I'm gonna be in a pageant!' I said 'Yes you are, and yes you will.'"

Ritenbaugh and her cosmetology students soon began to plan the first pageant.

"Now we have done our fourth," she said. "And it gets better every time. Our little Ashley started it all. Ashley commands a great audience."

The same can be said of many of the club members who take part in the show. Many of the club members are also students in Ritenbaugh's class.

"This was a great opportunity to help out our Buddies," student Brittany Reid said. "It's my senior year, and this has made beautiful memories that I will always treasure. I know that I will work with Buddies in my future. I want to combine my hairstyling career with volunteering with Buddies for my whole life."

Plant City High Principal Colleen Richardson said students "never tire of spending time with their Buddy."

"It has been both a very successful fundraiser for the Best Buddies program and a wonderful way for the students to showcase their unique personalities. Keep in mind that many of these students are 'Buddies for life,' and it is always nice to see graduates return with their Buddies to participate in this program," Richardson said.

Missy Kidd, Skills USA president, was the show emcee for the second time. "I love being a part of this wonderful experience. These kids are amazing, and I am thankful that they are a part of my life," she said.

Student Shayla Knight agrees.

"Hearing the stories that Missy and other girls in my class told about last year made me want to know what this was all about," Knight said. "Being a part of this for the first time really opened up my heart. My special friends have shown me what happiness and pure joy is all about."

Student Rachel Carter said she learned that "my Buddies don't need to be looked about as different. They are regular people just like everyone else. I love doing their hair in the school salon. I can't wait until next year's show."

Cosmetology student Grace Perez said her mother attended the fashion show and was especially touched.

"I'm glad I could be a part of this show," Perez said. "It made me happy to see all the Buddies laugh and have a good time. My mom came, and she cried happy tears though the whole thing."

Student Tori Davis found the fashion show to be a lesson in life.

"I love it that it was our Buddies' night to feel beautiful. They have taught me a deeper meaning of beauty," Davis said. "It is not just an outer shell but what's inside of you, also."