ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
For Joshua Kimbrough, a lesson in dining manners - including the art of eating bread - replaced math class. The quick course also included instruction in office protocol, introductions and thank-yous.
And he had lunch in the luxurious Pocahontas Room at the Hotel Roanoke instead of the dull cafeteria at James Madison Middle School.
It was no cafeteria-style meal. Kimbrough ate chicken breasts, broccoli, cauliflower and noodles. He was served by waiters in black uniforms. No standing in line; no plastic plates.
It was the first time Kimbrough had eaten at the hotel. He liked dining in style - and learning the finer points of eating properly.
He remembered to sit one hand's length from the table, place the napkin in his lap with the fold facing his body and pass food to the right.
If Kimbrough goes to college and enters the corporate world, he thinks the lesson will help him feel more comfortable at dinners and other social events.
Kimbrough was among 65 eighth-graders in Roanoke middle schools who had a class in dining and social manners at the hotel this week, then got to practice their skills at a luncheon served by the hotel staff.
The youngsters are participating in a new program to help academically promising but low-income children get a college education.
It begins preparing them for college in the middle-school grades, with tutoring, mentoring, special courses and summer sessions on college campuses.
Lissy Runyon, public information officer for Roanoke schools, said the etiquette training was designed to help prepare the youngsters for college and give them social skills that will make the transition easier.
For an hour, Rosemary Cardno taught the pupils the proper way to do all sorts of things, from shaking hands to writing a thank-you note after receiving a gift or being invited to an event.
Cardno, human resources director at Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, briefed them on proper table settings and gave them dining tips.
She instructed them on napkin etiquette, eating soups and salads, drinking beverages, cutlery manners - and posture during dining.
Spoon the soup away from you; never blow on a hot beverage; never cut more than three bites at a time; blot a napkin on your lips before drinking; and never leave sugar wrappings in an ashtray.
Offer the bread basket first to the person beside you. Break your roll into one or two pieces. Once you butter a piece, eat it in one bite.
Cardno has taught similar courses in another state. She was assisted by 10 other volunteers from Trigon, who sat with the pupils at tables and offered advice during the meal.
Trigon and several other businesses have made financial contributions or provided volunteer help for the program, which targets youngsters who are unlikely to attend college without special motivation and support from outside their homes, said Superintendent Wayne Harris.
Most of the pupil's parents did not get higher education. Some of the children have had behavioral problems in school, but they have the potential to do college work.
The pupils came dressed for the occasion. No jeans, sweat shirts or basketball shoes. The girls wore neat dresses. Some boys wore white shirts and ties.
Harris, who began the program this year, was impressed.
"You look so lovely. I throw out a challenge at you: Once a month, come to school looking like this," Harris told the pupils. "You are special to me."
The program is similar to one Harris helped administer when he was a superintendent in Fairfax County before he came to Roanoke.
Roanoke College, Hollins College and Virginia Western Community College will guarantee admission to students in the program who graduate from high school and meet entrance requirements. They also will provide financial aid to cover up to 70 percent of tuition, fees and other expenses. The school system will use contributions from businesses to pay the remaining 30 percent.
Ashley Peters, a pupil at Breckinridge Middle School, said it was the first time she had eaten at the hotel. During lunch, she remembered to pass food to the right and not to clink her spoon against the iced-tea glass.
Brandy Crowe had been to the hotel before, but she learned more dining etiquette, such as putting her iced-tea spoon to the table bowl down.
"I think this will be important for the future if I go to college," said Crowe, also of Breckinridge.
LaRue Dickerson, from Addison Middle School, had eaten at the hotel once before with his grandmother. He knew some of the etiquette guidelines, but he picked up a few pointers.
Dickerson said he will remember to keep his right hand free when he is to be introduced to someone. Briefcases and other items should be carried in the left hand, the children were told, so they can always shake with their right hand.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Mark Wilson of Ruffner Middle Schoolby CNBgets pointers on using the proper fork from Seymour Ellis of the
Hotel Roanoke staff. color.