On April 27, 2024, we hosted the 67th Cleveland Hungarian Scout Benefit Ball. The highlight of the ball was the introduction of the debutantes — this year, six young first-time couples opened the ball. Nearly 200 guests had fun at the Woodside Event Center in Broadview Heights. The music was provided by the swing band Hepcat Revival, much to the delight of the guests. “The atmosphere was very good,” said Marko Laszlo, a patrol leader who, at the age of 16, attended the Scout Ball for the first time this year as an escort to one of the debutantes. “It was a swing band this year, I never danced swing, but as soon as I got on the dance floor, the movements just came, the music played, and you just had to step to the beat… Swing-jazz music gives you a really good vibe — and it was really good throughout!”
The raffle again featured fantastic prizes this year — from a $25 gift certificate to a $2,000 luxury vacation at Lake Chautauqua, New York the Lake Balaton of America. Thanks to generous and valuable prizes and great supporters, we earned approximately $7,500 at the ball to support the participation of about 100 Cleveland scouts and scout leaders at this year’s Jubilee Camp.
“Scouting is first and foremost part of our Hungarian identity, our traditions and everything that belongs to it,” said Magdi Sarkozy, the mother of debutante Anna Sarkozy. “Scouting means the same thing to my daughter, and she needs our support to part of this movement. Scouting is a way of life that shows in their everyday lives that they are scouts, that they belong somewhere and that they have different values.”
At the ball, the recipient of the White Stag “Lifetime Achievement” Award was longtime scout leader Michael Horvath who has cared about the activities and future of Cleveland’s Hungarian scouts for many decades. Mike was formerly the scoutmaster of Hungarian Scout Troop 22. He was commissioner of the Hungarian Scout Assoication’s Cleveland District, president and secretary of the American Hungarian Friends of Scouting (AHFS), creator of the White Stag Award and currently is a committee member of the AHFS and serves as editor-in-chief of the organization’s news magazine about local scouting activities. He is a pillar of Cleveland’s Hungarian scouting movement, and is an excellent example of a lifetime achievement award recipient. (Julianna Gulden)
Pictures from the ball can be viewed in these albums:
Album 1. – Poharazás / Cocktail Hour
Album 2. – Táncosok és családok / Debutantes and Families
Album 3. – Nyitó tánc és bál kezdés / Debutantes’ Opening Dance
Album 4. – Vacsora és díjkiosztás / Dinner and Awards
Album 5. – Regös Palotás / Folk Ensemble Court Dance
Album 7. – Táncmulatság / Dance Party
Album 8. – Vendégek és asztaltársaságok / Guests & Tables
See it here:
