Often touted as the event of the year, the Marshall County Dancing with the Stars fundraiser attracts nearly 400 people from around the county and beyond to witness “celebrity” friends, family, and co-workers compete on the dance floor while raising money for the Marshall County Neighborhood Center. In its 11th year, the event has been the main source of funding for the Center, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping individuals and families in the community living at or just below the poverty line. The Center currently serves approximately 400 families per month and supports them by giving them what they call, a “Hand Up”. This year’s event will take place at 6pm, Saturday, February 9th,at the luxurious Swan Lake Resort, where attendees can enjoy cocktails, a delicious buffet, a live auction, general dancing, and of course the unique and dazzling performances of the local celebrities.
Business owners & professionals, stay-at-home moms, cancer survivors, medical specialists, community volunteers, and students make up this year’s group of dancers. They are each paired up with a professional choreographer and will have rehearsed for nearly four months prior to the night of the event. Dancing styles range from traditional ballroom and Latin to hip hop and mash-ups, and each year presents something new and exciting. And the dancers, while often nervous at the start of the event, are beaming with both relief and a sense of accomplishment by the night’s end. Anna Kietzman, co-chair of the event and previous dancer says, “We have never had a dancer regret signing up for this. No matter how nervous they get. Mostly, they come out of the experience with a great sense of pride- they’ve accomplished something most people haven’t and helped their community at the same time. It’s a pretty great feeling.”
Twelve groups of dancers will be competing this year. This year’s celebrity dancers are made up of individuals living throughout or originally from Marshall County, and include: Linsay Horvath, Tammy Bowling, Kim Farabaugh, Gennifer Schaefer, Tonya Warner, Melinda Satorius, Brandon Goetz, Miles Barger, Cameron Ragan, Jordan Fuller, Destiny Cartwright, Holly Nunemaker, Jessica Sills, Erin Klinedinst, Shannon Whitley, Ellie & Allen Longacre, Evelin Vargas, Joe Cartwright, Dana Wakeland, & Steve Keiser. The celebrities are choreographed by a team of professionals including Mewsette Cartwright, Kevin Guy, Mike Anderson, Marcia Heintzberger, Cindy Reister, Kim Morrison, and The Daggers.
The winners of the of the event will not be determined by their dance skills or abilities, but by the number of “votes” they receive. Since November, dancers have approached family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, social media “friends”, etc. to ask for their votes. “Many of the dancers enter the event with a good lead, and other dancers strategically plan their fundraising for the night of the event. Often, the top three winners are separated by only a few votes, so it can get really exciting by the end of the evening,” states Karen Benner, who currently co-chairs and started the event eleven years ago.
In addition to the performances, there will be a live auction that will live up to its reputation of being loaded with of a variety of fantastic items. A Colorado cabin, Roundbarn Tickets and dinner for two, a
robust lawn care package, a popular driver’s ed package, jewelry, food & vacation packages, and much more are sure to get the crowd competitively bidding and raising money for the Neighborhood Center. All proceeds from the auction, ticket sales, and dancer votes go directly to the Marshall County Neighborhood Center and benefit their main programs: Food Pantry, Household Development, and a New Building Fund.
Tickets for the event are $75.00 each and are still available. Those wanting to sponsor a table of 8 or 10 can be purchased on the website: events.org/neighborhoodcenter or on the event’s Facebook page: Marshall County Neighborhood Center’s Dancing with the Stars. To contact the event’s planners, or learn more information, please visit the website.
