2009 “DANCING WITH THE LOCAL STARS” FUNDRAISER A SUCCESS

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On April 18th, 2009, Care Free Medical & Dental held it’s second annual “Dancing with the Local Stars” fundraiser at the Country Club of Lansing . The event featured a live , silent and reverse auction along with a lively dance competition.  Sponsorships underwritten by local businesses and individuals as well as generous donations of auction items, printing services, audio video equipment, rental equipment and other in kind donations made the evening possible.

TV personalities Andy Provenzano of WILX TV-10 and Hondo Carpenter of abc3 TV acted as Masters of Ceremonies with Mayor Virg Bernaro as Honorary Chairperson. Distinguished judges included Scott Burgess from the Accident Fund, Mark Ruhala, of Ruhala Performing Arts Center, Theda Assiff of Assiff Dance Studio, and Tracy Holtzer from the Michigan Athletic  Club. Celebrity dancers including attorney Catherine Groll, WLNS TV reporter Katherine Jones, orthodontist Dr. Kristine West, Senator Gretchen Whitmer, WVIC  DJ Kevin Conrad, realtor Brian Huggler, Ingham County Medical society president Ken Rudman and former MSU Hockey player Rob Woodward, showcased their dancing skills in front of a crowd of approximately 250 attendees. Each celebrity dancer trained for 4-6 weeks with a professional dance instructor learning dance styles including the Waltz, Tango, Jitterbug , Charleston, 70’s Disco, Hip-Hop, Paso Doble, and Latin Rhythm.  First prize went to Rob Woodward and Elzbieta Alabuszew-Kutek of the Mark Taylor School of Dance for their entertaining performance of the Paso Doble. Senator Gretchen Whitmer and Mark Taylor of the Mark Taylor School of Dance waltzed their way to the crowd favorite award.

The live auction was extremely successful under the co-direction of auctioneer Bob Howe and assistant Anita Baron.  A few of the exciting live items up for bid were tickets to a live taping of the Oprah Winfrey show in Chicago and “Dancing with the Stars” in Los Angeles , as well as a 7 day stay in St. Maarten and Dinner & Wine for eight prepared by Chef Gavrillis . The reverse auction focused on informing the audience of the needs of the clinic and the effect their contribution could have in servicing these needs.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to all who attended, donated, sponsored, volunteered, and in any way contributed to our fundraiser. We are pleased to announce that this event proved to be another success in providing an elegant and fun filled evening of entertainment for all, and most importantly in raising over $50,000.00 to help continue Care Free’s mission of providing basic health and dental care to the underserved in our community. We  look forward to next year’s event and hope to see you there!

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