OLYMPIA, Wash. - This February, Grant Elementary principal Bob Hodges filled his gym with anxious and excited students.
"It was about half full. About half of our kids were sitting here and the other half were still coming down from their classrooms," he recalled.
It was all for an assembly to watch the African dance group named Bi-Okoto perform at 1:10 p.m. sharp.
"Come about 1:05, I've got students here in the gym waiting for the performance and nobody shows up," he continued.
The dance group from Cincinnati shuffled out of town leaving lots of disappointed kids who had to go back to class.
"Kids don't get that when adults don't fulfill their commitments," he said. "It doesn't make sense in their world. We spent some time trying to work through that."
It doesn't make sense in my world either. Making matters worse, the group demanded their $300 fee upfront. If you really want to see Bi-Okoto dance, Bob said try to get your money back from them.
"I spent the better part of six months with the letters and e-mails and phone calls and got absolutely nothing, I had no response at all," he said.
So after I called Bi-Okoto, I got in contact with some of my friends from Cincinnati and asked them to give the dancers a photo op. They took some pictures of their place, and guess what? In less than 24 hours after making contact, a check was in the mail.
"We kind of have a saying around here now and that's 'Don't mess with Jesse,' 'cause we got some results. It's great," he said.
The folks at Bi-Okoto did not tell us why they missed the performance. Now, this group told Bob that it was traveling though Washington earlier this year.
If Bi-Okoto did not show up at your school, give us a call. We also know they are advertising for a Washington tour this year. If you signed up, give us a call too.
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