By TRICIA NEAL, Staff Writer
Somerset — Times have changed. When it comes to asking a girl to the prom, more than a simple handwritten note or sheepishly-asked request is required.
So when Colby Hall decided to ask his friend, Kelsey Martin, to Somerset High School’s May 1 prom, he knew he needed to pull out all the stops in order to make a good impression.
“Girls these days expect something pretty good,” he said.
Colby, 17, son of McAlpin-Hall Motors’ Doug Hall, searched high and low for a creative tactic — and then discovered that the answer was almost literally right before his eyes ... and seen by the eyes of countless motorists traveling on South U.S. 27 in Somerset.
After church one day, Colby and a friend went to his father’s car lot and began piecing together the magic question on the marquee sign located near the corner of U.S. 27 and Oak Hill Road.
When they were finished, the black letters spelled out the hard-to-ignore request: “WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME KELSEY.”
Then came the waiting.
“We just came home and sat around all day,” Colby said.
Kelsey, also 17, was out of town for a cheerleading competition that day.
As luck would have it, however, when she returned to Somerset that evening, her mother decided to treat her to Sonic — which just happens to be near Colby’s dad’s car lot.
Kelsey called Colby with her answer that night.
“She seemed surprised to me,” Colby said.
So what was Kelsey’s answer?
Word has it that the marquee sign will soon be changed to read: “SHE SAID YES.”
But what if she hadn’t?
“I guess I would have had to take her name off and put somebody else’s name up,” Colby quipped.
