Dana LaMon was a FORCE! He could tell who you were when you entered the classroom, either from you voice or walk. It was eerie. He helped with speech club at Highland High School from 1994 to SOAR High School through 2018. He encouraged students to go beyond their expectations. He helped them win scholarship money through speech competitions and instilled in them a sense of self and confidence. He. Will. Be. Missed! Love you Dana!
5
What can I say about Dana? He was such a great guy. He was loved by everyone. That knew him. He will be truly miss. I will never forget him as I write this. I cry I can’t believe that he’s gone. For his family Erica I’m here for you if you need me I’m only a call away much love to you all. also to his children I will be here for you all as much as possible much love and respect to you all . Dana this is not a goodbye Dana this is I will see you in our makers time. Much love to you. I wish you were here, but I know God had plans for you up there. I love you. You are not FORGOTTEN
1
I was asked to pick up Dana when he needed a ride to a Toastmasters District 33 conference in Las Vegas. My friend and I were traveling from Santa Barbara. This was pre-GPS, and after picking him up, I wasn't sure which direction to take. He, of course, was able to give me directions. Our friendship overlapped because he then became involved with Optimists and we connected through this organization as he made significant contributions as a member and leader. Dana jumped in with both feet. I will miss his deep laugh and stories.
2
Dana was an extraordinary example of what it means to live life out loud. His teachings evoked a powerful sense of accountability and inspired a hopeless devotion to lifelong learning. He spoke truth to power and knew that the hardest conversations were amongst the ones people really needed hear and thus, prepare for. His contributions, etched indelibly on both the legal and education communities, were lauded near and far. Anyone under the sound of his voice or the weight of his pen knew that he had a profound gift and it had the power to heal and transform.
There will never be another like him. He will be sorely missed, but NEVER forgotten.
-KMA
2
Dana has been an incredible mentor and friend. I was one of the teenagers that he graciously gave time to in the early 2000s. He had a profound influence on my life. I am deeply grateful for him.
2
I met Dana my freshman year at Yale (he was a year ahead of me) and we quickly became friends. We worked out an exchange where he would type my papers (I had never learned to type) and I would read some of his assignments to him. He was an excellent typist!
Dana was one of the most capable people I ever met. He could do almost anything he put his mind to. Once (sometime in the 1980s) he, Jaci, Dana and Winter visited me and my family in Chicago. We decided to take everyone to a museum. As we were working out the arrangements, Dana, with a big grin on his face, offered to drive. I said, "I have no doubt that you could!” He was an inspiration to me and so many others throughout his life. I will miss him!
2
I have known Dana since junior high. We went to the same elementary school, but he was a couple of grades ahead of me.
Before he went to Yale, he was Tevye in the musical "Fiddler On the Roof."
When he would call me, I would always say, "Good morning, Your Honor," which made him laugh.
He never forgot the blind community, and when my friend Ariane asked if a young blind woman could shadow him, he agreed willingly, and graciously.
I am honored and humbled to have know this man who has made such a tremendous impact on so many people.
3
When I first met Mr. LaMon, I was a shy high school freshman trying to understand my place in the world and how to express my ideas to others effectively, which was enigmatic to me then. I fondly recall the many SOAR speech club meetings I attended throughout my time in high school and how transformative Mr. LaMon was to my personal and intellectual growth. He taught me to raise my words, not my voice, to make my ideas compelling and my presence powerful—skills that have been a gift to my life ever since. Yet, his influence on me went far beyond public speaking—through the choice of my career in medicine, he inspired in me a deep commitment to serve my community with the same compassion and dedication that defined his life. Mr. LaMon left having empowered so many people around him, including me, and I will do my upmost to carry forward his enormous legacy.
2
Bar None Club, Compton, Ca
Dana is a wearing white and blue striped shirt & with two of his sisters, Lo and Chicky, in the sailor-girl outfit.
1
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