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| V103’s Ryan Cameron |
Atlanta radio host Ryan Cameron will host his 8th annual Father Daughter dance this Father’s Day at Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium. This year’s theme will be the “Sea of Love.”
“The event has been sold out for three months now, 700 people in the ballroom … dinner, dancing with daughters from age four to 40s and 50s, they come from as far away as California … We even had some people last year that were here from Africa. So, it’s doing what it’s supposed to do,” Cameron told rolling out of the success of the event.
Cameron’s choice of “Sea of Love” as the dance’s theme plays off of both the fact that it will take place at the Georgia Aquarium, the largest in the country, and his desire to connect with President Obama’s message that strong families lead to solid citizens and strong communities.
“This year’s theme is just riding off what the president’s been talking about — about strengthening these family relationships,” he said. “We’re saying rekindle, start or straighten out your relationship with your daughter and a lot of dads out there, due to baby momma drama or other things going on, they neglect the fact that they have a daughter that’s gonna one day need their advice and support. And [while] they’re worried about all the drama with the mother, they got a young lady that’s gonna grow up one day and we try to keep them from being one of those girls we see on the news and wonder how is that possible. No matter what you do, you can make it happen if you take the first step, because the daughters aren’t gonna neglect you, they want their fathers to be in their life. It’s up to you to do what you’re supposed to do.”
The celebrated dance has served as an opportunity for fathers and daughters to create memories that will extend far into the future.
“One of the things we’re seeing a lot happen is the daughters having the relationship with their dads and the dad may pass on and I’ve gotten letters and cards where the video of the father/daughter experience at the dance was used during homegoing services. ‘Me and my dad weren’t close and the last time I saw him was at your dance,’ I’ve heard, and those are the memories that last a lifetime,” Cameron shared. “We had a guy come straight out of prison … He came in blue jeans and a polo shirt and hadn’t seen his daughter in four years until the dance.”
Sponsorship of this year’s event includes Dr. Hector Bush and Butler Tire, among others. They’re sponsoring a table of dads from the military who home on leave. –gerald radford and ric mathis
