Thon is losing an opportunity to spread its cause throughout the community and beyond. When some family members from across the state who were in town and I arrived at Rec Hall on Sunday to cheer on the dancers, we entered the building through its annex below the raquetball courts, then climbed to the second floor public area. From that entrance, we were unable to see the enormous line of at least two hundred that stretched from the front entrance to the curb and halfway back again.

A woman inside, instead of kindly showing us where to wait, rudely asked, "Who let you in here?" and threw us out.

We then decided to see how long the wait was, but the line barely moved. When we went home, the Information Sciences and Technology video feed was of such low bandwidth the audio was impossible to hear.

Some better logistics could have generated some free publicity from my family, who instead left without even seeing the dancers.

Why were entrances left unattended without someone there to direct people to the proper doors?

Couldn't one or two volunteers have circulated through the long line and let people know what the holdup was, or even made sure those inside left after a fair amount of time?

And what ever happened to customer service and plain old manners?

While Thon does raise a great deal of money to fight cancer, attention to public relations could solicit even more donations for the kids.