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ALABASTER – Thompson High School senior Landon Sample and his girlfriend Katherine Hall had a limited amount of time left together before their education and careers pulled them in different directions—and then the coronavirus outbreak robbed them of Sample’s senior prom.

But Sample’s mother Tammy and others gave Landon and Kat a personalized prom to remember on Thursday, April 30.

“His whole senior year has been full of a whole lot of ups and downs,” said Danny Sample, Landon’s father and owner of Siluria Brewing Company, noting Landon’s valedictorian status and participation on Thompson’s state champions football team and the first lacross team—though the season was cut short by the pandemic. “He’s such a good kid. He’s a very low-key kid. He helps me out here at the brewery. He helps his mom. We felt like so many things were being taken away from him, and my wife just wanted to do something special for him.”

A prom experience at the brewery was the answer.

A neighbor offered to take the couple to their destination in his restored 1932 Chevrolet, which was a surprise to Landon. The neighbor rang the doorbell at the time Landon was ready to leave and asked if he was ready to pick up his date.

“He was grinning and was like, ‘Heck yeah,’” Danny Sample said.

After pictures at the historic Siluria water tower, Landon and Kat were greeted at the brewery with the tunes of saxophonist Jerry Robbins, decorations based on the “Roaring 20s” theme and a dinner arranged by Katherine’s mother.

They danced on stage with creatively designed masks in light of coronavirus restrictions.

Katherine, a 2019 Thompson graduate, just completed her first year at UAB but will move away as she joins the U.S. Army.

Landon, meanwhile, will attend The Citadel in South Carolina on an ROTC scholarship.

Though not what they had in mind, the couple will undoubtedly take great memories away from their prom together.

“It was a really good time for them,” Danny Sample said.