Stars of 5678! Then and Now....Continued
- Community
- Annuitants & Former ExPats
Author: Nancy Ackerman
Released 14 March 2004
Jill Cramer
Photographs Contributed by Jill Cramer
Jill Cramer
I’m not the only one who still calls Jill “Bahama Mama”… tribute to when she lit up the stage during that Latin number of the same name. With an unforgettable swagger and style, and a contagious grin, Jill made everyone smile. Despite her nagging thoughts during rehearsals of “what am I doing????” she was a real trouper and her goal was to end up in the front row. She eventually did just that.
Jill says ‘I can remember being amazed that I was chosen and really excited even though I was still in the back row! That first tap number was a challenge. I was hesitant to believe you when you told me no one would know that I really didn’t know how to tap…as long as I smiled and had my arms in the right place. You were right of course; no one knew I didn’t even have taps on my shoes! I still use that story with my children at school when they get stage fright! The challenge of dancing alongside trained dancers will always stick with me, and helped me know that if I want something badly enough, and I practiced, I could achieve it. And again, that is something I pass on to the children in my class. It also helped explain something about my learning…I found out I was dyslexic. It’s funny how you can teach for years and not recognize something in yourself. But I made this discovery during rehearsals, when every time you gave us a turn or a circle movement, I was lost! There are so many things I can relate to in my teaching from my dance experience. The children (especially those with similar problems) love my stories and feel better about what they will be able to achieve. I am a better teacher for this, (but I did hate those ‘weigh ins!”).
Jill and husband Dan (who was our Mr. Muscle during piano moving scenes and quick set changes) have resided in Park City, Utah, since leaving Dhahran in 1991. Their backyard vista is a ski slope and moose playground, with plenty of other critters roaming in and out, including a pair of 5-point bucks that would come down to sleep in the shade of the neighbor’s aspen trees. Later in the year they brought their does and fawns to visit and what a treat that was. A favorite laid back time for them is to sit outside in their hot tub on a snowy day, and gaze upon the panorama of open slopes and teeming wildlife.
Jill and Dan have been involved in various businesses over the last years, from having their own export company, which involved lots of travel back to the Middle East, to Dan’s present position as the CFO of Diamond Z Construction, a young company that is thriving under Dan’s leadership. Jill initially taught skiing to youngsters at Park City Resort, but decided she missed them in the classroom, so returned to full time teaching. She is in her ninth year of teaching 3rd grade at Park City Academy. Her dedication and enthusiasm have garnered her many awards and plaudits, the most memorable being the recipient of the Excellence Educator Award. What is especially nice is that this is the second recognition for Jill, the first being for teaching first grade in Dhahran.
Jill and Dan
Both Jill and Dan were very caught up in the recent 2002 Winter Olympics, and Jill’s school was in a program called Adopt an Olympian that was initiated two years before the Olympics began. Each class was assigned an athlete, and they stayed with them the full two years. The children were able to talk with them during classroom visits, see their equipment and sometimes attend practices. These aspiring Olympians served as wonderful role models and inspiration to the students. Capping off this bonding was an appearance of the class on the Today Show! Although Dan complained about rising at 3 a.m. to get to the filming site, he now concedes it was worth it. Jill, of course, made sure they were early enough to land in the front row. There she goes again, wanting that front row spot!
Jill has taken up golf (she brags that in the spring Park City is one of the few places that you can ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon!) But what really knocked my socks off is that she is in training for her private pilot’s license. She is flying a little two seater Katana, and her instructor (thankfully that other seat is occupied), a young French girl, is working in the states to get enough hours to apply for Air France.
Jill complains that “ there just isn’t enough time in the day to work, fly, and ski, and do all those life things!” She does concede that flying in the mountains, especially in winter, is a bit tricky. She admits that “it’s scary but thrilling”, and, typically, takes this new life experience into her classroom. “My class loves that I have homework to do too. I have even been able to teach them some things from flying like the compass and how the runways work, copying some of the charts and graphs used to calculate weights and balance, and other things that can be used as teaching tools for them.” She added “they think I’m going to go off and become an airline pilot and leave them. They have no idea about the age thing!”
Next? Hitching a ride in a bi-wing aerobatic plane. She loves those thrills!
Although Jill hated the mandatory weigh-ins every Friday, she has no fear now. Her newest venture is as a distributor for a new health product, and her association with that company has resulted in a dramatic weight loss; she now shops the junior department looking for size 5’s.
Although Jill and Dan left Dhahran 13 years ago, they cherish the friendships made and maintained, and have promised to be at the 2005 reunion of 5678! in Las Vegas. We’ll be doing a few dance numbers, and I’m sure Jill will want that front row spot...again.