Introducing Page Rhoad & Foxglove Cotillion
Reprinted with permission from the Georgia Mountain Laurel magazine
Originally published in the April 2015 issue of the Georgia Mountain Laurel
Page Rhoad’s love story with Rabun County spans a life-time and has as many twists and turns as the mountain roads for which it’s famous.
Her great uncle, Walter T. Forbes, founded Athens “Y” Camp in Tallulah Falls in 1898; and both her father Bobby Forbes, and her father-in-law, built cabins on Lake Burton in the 1940’s. To this day, her dad tells stories of “splitting stumps” on water skis behind Dr. Jennings’ motorboat—the first of its kind on the lake.
After moving from the mild climate of Georgia to sunny Miami, Florida at 11 years old, her parents decided it was about time they enroll their children in Mrs. Hazel Nowakowski’s Cotillion classes—and so began Page’s journey.
An adventurous teenager, Page frequently laughs when reflecting back on how she would often paint her nails to hide the grease under them from working on her car, or the time she had to change her tire in the parking lot, wearing a leotard, immediately after dance practice. She was a Cotillion Assistant all throughout high school; and the significance of being able to make a good impression and politely make conversation with anyone, no matter if they had grease under their nails or danced ballet, wasn’t lost on her.
In college, at UNC Chapel Hill, Page taught ballroom dancing classes and graduated with a masters degree in Public Speaking. Around the same time, her old Cotillion teacher, Mrs. Nowakowski decided to license her curriculum, which was based around teaching civility and respect; That curriculum went on to become the basis for many of the Cotillion classes taught around the country today.
Page moved back to Georgia after falling in love with a Georgia Tech boy named Hal Rhoad, who she met on Lake Burton. They made a home for themselves in north Atlanta, and sometime after having 4 children (3 boys and 1 girl, all of which attended Cotillion), she was given the chance to run a small Cotillion franchise in Johns Creek.
Over the next 7 years, Page’s ability to make manners and dancing fun for middle school students turned into 7 national awards.
She had an uncanny ability to get the best out of children at an age that usually brought out their worst.
She quickly expanded into multiple public and private schools and local country clubs, pulling together a small volunteer army of excited young mothers and hiring high school assistants along the way.
Then in 2011, now an empty nester with grown children, Page sold her Cotillion business and she and Hal moved to Rabun County full time. Hal continued to run the annual Lake Burton Fireworks Show in the summer, and their second son Cannon Rhoad began a property management company called Kingfisher Concierge. But as Page became more immersed in the community, including briefly teaching a public speaking class at Rabun County High School, she began to wonder how she could bring a sense of real-world confidence, respect, and civility back to a generation that too often hid behind their smartphones and tablets.
Who will teach social skills to a generation raised on social media?
Unbeknownst to Page, in the fall of 2014, her oldest son Clifton Rhoad (a strategy consultant and web developer) and her daughter Caroline Rhoad (a logistics expert and engineer with Coca Cola) hatched a plan behind her back. They formed Foxglove Cotillion, a small business based in Rabun County devoted to giving people an advantage in life, by teaching all the social graces Page had taught them. They then presented the partnership to their mother and asked her to give Cotillion a home in Rabun County. And so it began again.
Page immediately began developing the curriculum for the Cotillion Classes, which would be offered to middle school students, and Clifton began developing programs that the community could enjoy as well. Foxglove Cotillion kicks everything off this summer with a series of “Date Nights” centered around dessert and dancing. The idea is to give couples of all ages a chance to come enjoy dessert together, learn some tips and tricks from Page for formal dining etiquette, and have some fun learning some basic dance steps. Additional information can be found on the Foxglove website or by calling Page directly.
In the fall, Cotillion will get going full swing with 8 weeks of Classes offered for 5th - 8th grade students as an afterschool activity once a week. Spots will be very limited (15 boys and 15 girls per class), and will be first come first serve, based entirely on Foxglove’s Waiting List. You can pre-register for free by signing your student up for the Waiting List at www.FoxgloveCotillion.com (a beautiful, mobile-friendly website), where you can also read more about the classes, pricing, and upcoming events such as the “Fox Prom” and the “Fam Jam.”
As it turns out, some things do come all the way back around. With a full calendar of programs and events planned, Rabun County is returning to its roots in southern hospitality. And alongside her two children, Page is leading the way by teaching the secrets to southern charm.
