In 2002, Kenneth Cummings and Tom Willis pitched an idea to then-Phil Campbell Mayor Freida Eubank.
Their idea can safely be called a success as the weekly Phil Campbell Dance recently celebrated its 15th anniversary on March 10th.
“Tom and Kenneth came to see me at city hall. They wanted to talk about having a dance each week at the Phil Campbell Community Center. They would bring their own band, so they town didn't have to pay. And the town would get part of the proceeds,” Eubank said.
A crowd of more than 100 packed into the community center for a pot luck supper and anniversary dance last Friday. Music, as always, was provided by the Fairlanes, featuring Stanley Parrish, Anthony Green, Hugh Don Franklin and Joe King.
With a core of 'regulars' numbering 65-75, the event, held each Friday night, draws guests from Muscle Shoals, Hamilton, Haleyville, Mount Hope, Moulton, just to name a few.
“This event brings people to our area so that's a good thing. These folks don't just visit our town. They spend money here when they come,” Eubank said.
The town receives $1 of the $5 per person admission charged at the door. A pot luck supper is held the first Friday of each month and the dance provides a way for guests to enjoy some good, clean fun in Phil Campbell.
Eubank said she liked the idea from the moment she first heard about it in 2002.
“I totally supported it while I was mayor and I still do. I help promote it and it's something good for the community and really for everybody involved,” Eubank said. “There are some seniors who come here and aren't able to go to the Shoals at night. This is handy for them and we've all made some good friends through the years.”
Eubank attends most Fridays and said the group is like a family.
“It's just a time of fellowship and friendship and Heaven help us, I know I need the exercise,” Eubank said.
Willis, a Muscle Shoals resident who's been involved in the music business his entire life, was part of the band “Sounds of Country” that provided the music each Friday until a few years ago when health concerns no longer allowed him to perform full-time.
“I've been in music all my life. I never thought 15 years ago that we'd still be going in Phil Campbell. We had no intention of staying out here 11 years playing music but we did. It's turned out to be very special,” Willis said.
Margaret Isom, a Hamilton resident who's a regular, said she looks forward to each Friday night in Phil Campbmell.
“It's a time of great fellowship and music. I guess I enjoy the dancing too. We just get together and have a good time,” Isom said. “We're all like one big family here.”
For Phil Campbell resident Ed Rogers and Shirley Miles of Florence, the Friday night dance has an extra special meaning in their lives. The couple has been together 15 years now and that goes back to the first Friday in 2002 the event was ever held.
“We had a mutual friend who invited me to come hear the band and that's how I met (Ed). Fifteen years later we're still together having fun and dancing,” Miles said.
“I sure didn't plan it. My friend and I weren't doing anything that Friday. Tommy (Willis) said come down. I said 'no' at first. He said he had someone he wanted me to meet and I said I wasn't interested. We came anyway and the rest is history.”
The Phil Campbell Community Center is located just off College Road next to the Phil Campbell Splash Pad. The dance is held from 7-10 p.m., each Friday.
