FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- "My daddy made me Cinderella," said Kinsley Ogorman, daughter of Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Ogorman. The Fort Leonard Wood Father Daughter Ball was a night dedicated to making Fort Leonard Wood daughters feel like princesses.
The Chaplain's Office hosted the event Saturday night at Nutter Field House, giving military fathers the opportunity to spend time with their daughters without distraction.
The building was packed wall-to-wall with fathers and daughters enjoying the evening.
According to the Installation Chaplain's Office, the event sold out within a month of the tickets going on-sale. The night included dinner, dancing, professional photographers, a live band and a message about the importance of father-daughter relationships.
"Being able to spend time with my daughters even though they're older than the average daughter here -- they're both in college -- this time is special," said Brig. Gen. Mark Inch, U.S. Army Military Police School commandant. He was there with his daughters, ages 19 and 21, who drove from out-of-state to attend the night with their father.
This is something the Inch daughters can't wait for every year.
"We look forward to the Father Daughter dance, we always have since we were little," Kaitlin Inch said.
The ball was only half of the experience; part of the fun was getting ready.
"They spent two and a half hours doing hair, make-up, dresses -- it only took me 15 minutes to get ready," said Capt. Juan Torres, who attended with his daughters, ages 2 and 9.
Torres said they can dance at home, but they were excited about getting to go out together.
"I'm looking forward to spending time with my girls. The thing they're looking forward to is dancing. We dance at home, but here we can dance to loud music," Torres said.
Marine Corps Sgt. James Pulis, said his daughter's jaw dropped when she saw him dressed up.
"I walked in wearing my dress uniform and she was watching TV. She saw me and stood there with her mouth open," Pulis said. "I asked her if she was ready and she nodded. I asked her if she wanted to go with me and she nodded."
After the formal portion of the evening concluded, the Woodchucks, part of the 399th Army Band, took the stage to keep the dance floor lively as attendees started drifting home, some fast asleep in their father's arms.
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