"Jonathan Bentley Ebert." The announcer at the Huntsman Center finally called out Jono's name, after an hour of uplifting speeches and almost-perfect music by the school choir and orchestra. I even got a chance to stand as an alumnus of Olympus High School, just like Jono. It was May 25, 2018, and we all basked in the happiness and promise of one fine boy.
Each graduate got a moment of fame and adulation, standing on the stage of the gaping stadium, announced individually. It was our Jono!
Instead of immediately marching off the stage, Jono and his friends paused, gathering with their group of buddies on the stage.
Then it was all over, 12 years of school, with friends scattering across the earth. Jono leaves in July for his mission to Fukuoka, Japan. "It's the Hawaii of Japan, in the very south," Jono exulted. "Palm trees and everything."
This was a grand day for grandparents!
And a proud day for Camille and Steve, as parents.
Jono's dad, Steve, treated us to lunch at Porcupine Grill, with time to talk with Jono about his non-stop trips until he leaves on his mission. He'll boat on Lake Powell and bask on the beaches of Mexico and Newport Beach, California, with his friends. He'll travel to New York City to take a family friend to her high school prom, and he'll visit old friends in Boston. He'll spend a long weekend in St. George with "just family." Jono has definitely lived a privileged life, but he has remained sweet and unpretentious. A friend of mine from Rotary, who was Jono's Young Men's advisor, told me that Jono is "a natural leader, and he will be for the rest of his life."
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