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Marcophile: Jordan 'steps up' for families
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When Howard Jordan gets frustrated as he learns how to dance for the Dancing With the Starz gala, he regains his resolve by recalling a special moment involving his 7-year-old son Howie.
“Howie and some other kids were asked by a reporter recently, ‘What does success mean to you?’
“Howie answered, ‘My mom and dad had a party to raise money for children. That was a success.’ “
Daddy Howard probably has his son’s remark written on the palm of his hand as he practices and learns from his Starz dancing partner, Tammy Clemmens of Modern Steps Dance Studio. The prize — raising money for Upon-A-Star, the foundation founded by Howard and his wife Michelle — is what keeps Jordan putting one foot in front of the other, or behind, or wherever Tammy tells him to put it.
Like the other six dancers in the Starz charity campaign, Howard is not dancing to dazzle a crowd. He’s hoofin’ and huffin’ to help his foundation help families here on Marco.
“We want to be the ‘Go-To Place’ when people need quick relief, instead of going through a lot of red tape,” Howard explains.
“We want to help at ground level the individual or the family.
“There’s a misconception that if your zip code is 34145 you have unlimited financial resources. Not true.”
He relates the incident that sealed the deal for him to be a dancer when Starz creator Judy Perez asked him to take part.
“Kids from a neighborhood family come to play with our kids because their mom works long hours every day. One evening her 8-year-old and 3-year-old knocked on the door and asked whether we had anything to eat.
“ ‘Mom’s at work and there’s nothing in the house,’ they said. Michelle cooked them a quick meal and then learned it was the 3-year-old boy’s birthday.
“We thought how horrible this was, a child unable to celebrate a birthday. We had some toys our kids had not played with yet — it was right after Christmas — so we wrapped a toy and Michelle made a birthday cake.
“You should have seen the smile on that kid’s face. Not having some birthday fun should never happen to a child. That was a case of a single parent working 60 to 70 hours a week and it was a tough time for her. And those people are sprinkled around Marco. People don’t think they exist here, but they do.”
Michelle shares her husband’s dedication to their foundation and to the people it helps. Howard says she should be the one dancing, not him.
“I met Michelle at a nightclub, September’s, on New Year’s Eve, 1993. I asked her out and she said no. Then I asked whether she understood my question correctly. She said she sure did and, ‘The answer is still no.’ “
A few weeks later a mutual friend got them together and, says Howard, “That was that.”
Howard got to Marco by a relatively quick decision to move here within months after his first visit, on vacation in early 1993. He is a certified financial planner with Raymond James & Associates and serves as vice president of the Marco Island Civic Association.
Michelle is in business here as well, partnered with Dana Flowers in a faux painting business called “Two by Faux Finishing.”
These days, it’s all about the foundation fundraising. Oh yeah, and the dancing. Says Howard: “I believe people want more control when they give. We’ll do the right thing with every dollar. If we make a difference in just one family’s life, the dance lessons will have been well worth it.”
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Chris Curle is a former news anchor for CNN and for ABC TV stations in Atlanta, Houston and Washington, D.C. E-mail: chris@chriscurle.com.
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