The San Diego Union Tribune ran a full length feature article on Mr. Benjamin’s San Diego Junior Cotillion on February 21, 2004. “Mr. Manners – Donald Benjamin has been getting kids off on the right foot for 50 years” profiles San Diego Junior Cotillion and it’s founder, Mr. Benjamin.

Excerpts “My father was one of the finest men I ever met,” Benjamin says softly. Today, his youngest son, Peter, has many of the same praises for Benjamin. “He has a strong conviction, a very strong personality. If it’s something he believes in, that’s it. He’s not one of those people who says which direction do I swing in to make the most people happy. I try to live by that same standard.” “Peter has taken over for his dad at the class known as the La Jolla Assembly. He also teaches in Scripps Ranch, Tierrasanta, Encinitas, Coronado and a second class in Point Loma at the Wednesday Club on Talbot Street.” “There’s something about this 83-year-old man and his old-fashioned traditions that these young people find rings true. They would never admit it, and they can’t really tell you what it is, but they know, somehow, that these sessions are like vegetables – good for them – if they don’t die on the spot from the embarrassment of being close to and talking with the opposite sex.” “That is the beauty of Mr. Benjamin. Learning to feel comfortable in your own skin. Learning to feel comfortable among strangers. Learning that self-respect and respect for others makes a lasting impression.” The complete article can be viewed here.

Much gratitude to the San Diego Union Tribune for the fantastic article!