Robert Sweetapple surprises Fred Astaire Dance instructor Ashley Jones with a lift
during rehearsal for this year’s Boca Ballroom Battle to benefit the George Snow Scholarship Fund.
Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
On a warm Wednesday evening in late July, Robert Sweetapple and Ashley Jones are navigating the floor at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Boca Raton as Rod Stewart sings the Motown classic Same Old Song from the loudspeakers.
To be precise, Ashley Jones — a professional instructor at the school — is dancing. Robert Sweetapple, a high-powered lawyer, is … improving.
“This is my 14th lesson, and I’m going to need 10 more,” Sweetapple joked during a break — which is unfortunate, because the eight amateurs competing in this year’s Boca Ballroom Battle get only 15 lessons before the Aug. 16 competition.
The event, now in its seventh year, raises money for the George Snow Scholarship Fund, and Sweetapple has put his commitment to education ahead of any fear of embarrassment.
A managing member of Sweetapple, Broeker & Varkas, he has lived in Boca Raton for 28 years. He and his wife, Karen, have four children — all of whom attended Gulf Stream School. Three are away at college and the youngest attends St. Andrew’s School while their father attends the Fred Astaire.
“I’m definitely slow on the uptake,” Sweetapple confessed before returning to the lesson, “but it’s amazing how with practice you can get the basic gist of it.
“I just thank God I’ve done better in court than I do here!”
— Ron Hayes
TEN QUESTIONS
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. My dad died when I was 10, so in 1965 we moved to Perrine, south of Miami, from Fairfield, Calif., and I went to elementary school there. Then we moved to Plantation, where I graduated from Nova High School in Fort Lauderdale. That was the Broward County magnet school, and it allowed me to go on to Colgate University in New York, and then the University of Florida law school. If I’d stayed where I was, I’d be picking tomatoes with all the rest of my neighbors.
Q. What professions have you worked in? What life accomplishments are you most proud of?
A. I’ve been a trial lawyer for 34 years, primarily practicing commercial litigation, and I’m most proud of being able to help people who are sometimes in the worst situation they’ve ever been in and help them through tough times. And I’ve made a lot of very good friends in the process.
Q. How is it that you were pursued to dance in this year’s Boca Ballroom Battle event?
A. My wife and Tim Snow conspired. After 32 years of marriage, my wife wants to see some new moves.
Q. Why is the George Snow foundation important to you?
A. Because it makes education available to worthy young people who otherwise couldn’t afford to obtain a great education. There’s a very short window. If you don’t go to college in that window, the odds of you going back later in life narrow every year.
Q. How did you choose to make your home in coastal Boca Raton?
A. I’ve always loved boating and the water, and growing up in Plantation, a lot of my friends lived in east Lauderdale. In 1965, Plantation was in the middle of nowhere, and I vowed I would never live in the Everglades again. We’ve been in Boca since 1986.
Q. What is your favorite part about living in Boca?
A. The boating. I have a Donzi 35-foot fishing boat and a Fairline cabin cruiser. I fish a little bit, but primarily we take it to the islands.
Q. Do you have a favorite quote that inspires your decisions?
A. “Life’s battles are not always won by the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.” Napoleon Hill
Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A. My biggest mentor other than my own mother was Joan Kamilar, who was my best friend’s mother when I was growing up in Perrine. I asked her once what was the most important word in the English language, and she said “empathy.” She said, “When you feel sorry for someone because you think you’re better than they are, that’s sympathy. When you realize you’re no better, that’s empathy.” She was a professed atheist, but I’ve never met a person I’d consider more of a Christian.
Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. Well, I’d want it to be a comedy. Could it be Eddie Murphy?
Q. Who/what makes you laugh?
A. Everything! Having a sense of humor is inside you, and you have to start by laughing at yourself.
IF YOU GO
Boca’s Ballroom Battle, a fundraiser for the George Snow Scholarship Fund
Where: The Boca Raton Resort & Club
When: 6 p.m. Aug. 16
Tickets: Starting at $150
Information: 347-6799 or www.scholarship.org
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