Dance instructor Melinda Piekstra (left) with Mike Filbin during their "Grease" dance routine at the 2018 Dancing with the Local Stars at Windy Hills Winery in Ridgefield.
The Rotary Club of Three Creeks’ annual dance-off for local dignitaries has its roster as the club announced the participants in Dancing with the Local Stars 2.0 set for March 7 at ilani.
Tickets for the annual fundraiser for the club go on sale Nov. 29, according to the roster announcement. Eight local stars will compete for the Mirror Ball Trophy:
Tracy Doriot
(Doriot Construction)
Azar Ghiasvand (Banner Bank)
Cyndi Holloway
(Waste Connections)
Dianna Kretzschmar
(Delta Direct Care Foundation)
Elizabeth Schalk (Evergreen Public Schools)
Daniel Spanski-Dreffin
(Voya Financial and the Rotary Club of Three Creeks)
Evan Strandberg
(iQ Credit Union)
Jim West (Jim West Commercial Real Estate).
The competition will see the return of First Dance, Inc. Owner Ralph Stevens in producing the event, according to the announcement. He has coordinated professional instructors for the local stars and his company produced the first two events in 2018 and 2019.
“The event’s aim is to benefit Rotary Club of Three Creeks giving program, which benefits children, veterans, hungry and homeless,” Rotary of Three Creeks Club President Scot Brantley stated in the announcement. “After just two years of huge success at Windy Hills Winery, we’ve outgrown the facility and are proud to partner with our friends at ilani Casino Resort, and the Cowlitz Tribe, who have all been wonderful to work with.”
The release stated that after the first two seasons of the rebooted dance competition, the Rotary Club of Three Creeks was able to grant $10,000 to the North County Community Food Bank, create a “Donor Advised Fund” with The Rotary Foundation and a community giving grant program, provide a full scholarship for Vancouver’s Annie Straight to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (a weeklong leadership camp for young adults), and initiate and fund its first-ever international service project, set for December 2019 in Mexico.
Dancers will compete for best dance, voted by judges, the announcement noted, though the grand champion — and winner of the Mirror Ball Trophy — will be the local star who raises the most funds.
The first two years of the competition raised nearly $30,000 for its community giving programs, according to the announcement. The club itself recently celebrated its third anniversary, serving the Hazel Dell, Felida, Salmon Creek and Ridgefield areas of North Clark County. More information about the event, tickets, sponsorships and the Local Stars, can be found online at dancingwiththelocalstars.com.
— The Reflector
