She said yes.
Former Yelm residents Anthony Romans and Rene Kord, now engaged, shared the memory of a lifetime on Oct. 20 in front of several thousand passionate football fans at Yelm High School homecoming game.
While the Yelm Tornados and Peninsula Seahawks football teams were warming up for their battle on the gridiron, Romans proposed to Kord surrounded by Yelm’s cheerleaders with the Tornados’ student section and a packed YHS stadium watching.
While Romans and Kord shared a special hug after the proposal, Yelm’s cheer squad and student section sang Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” to make the moment even more special.
“The fans, the whole stadium erupted. That meant a lot because we had alumni up in the stands, too, and the whole stadium went crazy,” Romans said. “When we were walking back to our seats and walking out, we had Yelm students congratulating us. That was special to see those young students so happy for us. It was like we got to do it in front of our entire Yelm family. It meant so much to me to be able to be on that field and ask the love of my life to spend the rest of our lives together, and to do it in a community we grew up in. When we went to school, the first street was literally a blinking light. I’ve seen this city grow from literally a one-light town to what it is today, and the community and its support are absolutely phenomenal.”
Romans said the newly engaged couples’ love story took root in the eighth grade, over 30 years ago at Yelm Middle School. The two eventually graduated from YHS together in 1993.
“I loved her the minute that I saw her. I was in love with her, and she felt the same way,” Romans said. “But being young and dumb, we never really told each other.”
After going their separate ways for 30 years, Romans and Kord reconnected in July through some simple text messages. Eventually, the soon-to-be married couple confessed their middle school love for each other, and their feelings for each other reignited.
“It meant everything to me to be able to have that moment on that field,” Romans said, adding his fianceé supported him in the same stands at YHS when he played there in the early ’90s.
“We went down there, and I was super, super nervous. She didn’t know what was happening. She just thought we were going to the homecoming game. When I turned and she faced me, and I started talking, she lost it. It’s amazing that we were able to do this back where we first started.”
Romans thanked Beth Foote, secretary at Yelm High School, and Yelm’s cheerleading team for their efforts in making this special night happen.
“[Foote] is amazing. If it wasn’t for her, this wouldn’t have happened. The cheerleaders are just amazing, too. It was possibly one of the most special moments that I’ll ever remember.”
Kord described the proposal as an unbelievable memory she and her now-fianceé will carry forever and said it has been a long time coming.
“It’s still super emotional for me. The thing that stands out the most to me is he’s just so incredibly thoughtful. To plan something like that is amazing to me, and it shows how much he loves me and cares about it. It’s really, really special,” Kord said. “It’s like fairy tale stuff. It was amazing to have this moment in my hometown where I grew up, where I feel at home. To have the community there and to hear the eruption was amazing, it made it really special.”
Kord said the feeling of being back at YHS and at the homecoming football game was nostalgic. Upon arrival at the game, she was told, in addition to homecoming night, that it was also alumni night, so she and Romans were invited to the field for photos and ultimately the proposal.
Like her fianceé, Kord also thanked the cheerleaders for joining in to sing after the big proposal. It meant a lot to her and Romans that the cheerleaders participated in their special day, she said.
