The Rotary Club of Plant City held the 16th annual Dancing With the Locals fundraiser on Friday October 27th. This event and our Wild Game Cookout in the spring are our club’s 2 main fundraisers that support all our charitable efforts during the year. In the 2023 fiscal year our club was able to donate over $190,000 to local groups in addition to supporting Rotary International’s efforts as well as our local and international service projects.
Some of the donations benefited the following organizations: Achieve Plant City, American Cancer Society, Boys and Girl Scouts of America, Camp Invention, Cattleman’s. Christmas for an Angel, Cork Elementary, East Hillsborough Law Enforcement Appreciation Association, HCC Veterinary Technology Program, Knight’s Elementary, Marshal Middle Schol, Meals On Wheels, Optimist Cub, PCHS Interact, Plant City Little League, PCHS Raider Champions, Plant City Parks and Recreation, Plant City Boys and Girls Clubs, Plant City Chamber of Commerce, Plant City Main Street, Plant City Police Department, Pregnancy Care Center of Plant City, Plant City Railroad Museum, Seminar For Tomorrow’s Leaders Youth Seminar, Scholarship Funds for Graduating Seniors and continuing College Students, SFBH Diamonds and Denim, Simmons Career Center, Strawberry Festival, Tomlin Middle School, United Food Bank of Plant City, Walden Lake Elementary, World Affairs Youth Seminar and the Plant City YMCA.
Dancing With the Locals features local couples that have invested time taking dancing lessons to prepare for the big event. In addition to preparing the dance, they do a great job in obtaining sponsorships that raise money for the event. The night of the event attendees can “Vote” for their favorite couple with donations. The couple that raises the most money is declared the Winner, but the real winner is the local community. There is also a Judge’s Choice Award presented to the couple deemed to have the best dance by our panel of judges.
Attendees started the evening with hors d’oevres and cocktails. Next up, emcees for the event, Rotarians Jim Scott and Brittany Keys, welcomed everyone to the event. There were opening remarks by Plant City Rotary President Bill Hughes which included presentation of a check to the United Food Bank of Plant City. The judges were introduced including Gary Pike, Jenny Rothman, Ali Sobh and Candice Harrell.
For the main event, everyone was treated to an entertaining night of performances by each of the couples participating. There were 8 couples:
Couple 1 - Caroline Sessa and Trent Lott – Cabernet w/Cha Cha
Couple 2 -Jessica Muroff and Owen LaFavre – Cha Cha
Couple 3 - Samantha Black and Stone Wharton – Hip Hop
Couple 4 - Mandi and Jeremy Davis – Waltz Swing
Couple 5 - Alex Rhoades and Phillip Davis– West Coast Swing w/Latin Fusion
Couple 6 - Kennedie Clinton and Mike Engle – Music Theatre Style
Couple 7 - Courtney Spears and Jason Johns – Contemporary Cha Cha
Couple 8 - Caitlyn Kent and Francesco Leising – Waltz Balero Mix w/Contemporary Cha Cha
After the dances were complete, there was an Intermission for desserts and coffee, a showcase dance by Just Dance Academy and a Live Auction. Next, all the dancers were called back to the dance floor for a curtain call and for the winners to be announced.
Last but not least, the winners were announced:
3rd place was awarded to Caroline Sessa and Trent Lott
2nd place went to Courtney Spears and Jason Johns
1st place was awarded to Alex Rae Rhoades and Phillip Davis
The final award was the Judge’s Choice Award which went to Caitlyn Kent and Franz Leising.
After final congratulations, the dance floor was opened for attendees to dance the night away.
This event would not be successful if it wasn’t for the many sponsors involved. Please remember these sponsors and their commitment to out community when you need services or products:
Focus Magazine, Bell Industrial Construction, QGS Development, The Canopy at Walden Woods, Level Line Concrete Inc., Palmetto Capital Group, Trimak Building Systems, Ling Realty, Minuteman Press, Outback Steakhouse, Russell’s Work and Western, Hillsborough Title, Miller Construction Management, Star Distribution Systems, The Bank of Tampa, Fryed Egg Productions, Underground Farms, Hungry Howie’s, Solution Source, Beach House Real Estate, Dallas1 Construction and Development, Jarret Scott Ford, GT Grandstands, Jenkins Construction, United Way Suncoast, MNM Construction, Inc., Central Drywall Construction, Metro, Beauty By Eric, Keller Williams Realty, Parksdale Farms, Inc., Harpro, Dykstra Construction, Mother Nurture, HCC, Griffin Utilities, Farm Credit of Central Florida, Blacks’s Insurance and Financial Services, State Farm-Tony Lee, Enhanced Healthcare, Propagation Whiskey Bar and Kitchen, R 7 M Logistics Solutions, Suncoast Wealth Solutions, ELT Landscape, Gould’s Air Conditioning and Heating, Holiday Inn Express, Stephanie Eisenbach – LPT Realty, Florida Strawberry Festival, South Florida Baptist Hospital, Catering By The Family, Compass Charter Schools. Couter, Aviles & Company – Trey Stevens, Florida Insurance Center Inc., Ali Sobh & Jenny Rothman, Jenkins Roofing Tampa, Inc., Ace Realty & Auction, Hopewell Funeral & Memorial Gardens, CPS Investment Advisors, Patterson Companies, Brewington's Towing & Recovery.
Focus Magazine, Bell Industrial Construction, QGS Development, The Canopy at Walden Woods, Level Line Concrete Inc., Palmetto Capital Group, Trimak Building Systems, Ling Realty, Minuteman Press, Outback Steakhouse, Russell’s Work and Western, Hillsborough Title, Miller Construction Management, Star Distribution Systems, The Bank of Tampa, Fryed Egg Productions, Underground Farms, Hungry Howie’s, Solution Source, Beach House Real Estate, Dallas1 Construction and Development, Jarret Scott Ford, GT Grandstands, Jenkins Construction, United Way Suncoast, MNM Construction, Inc., Central Drywall Construction, Metro, Beauty By Eric, Keller Williams Realty, Parksdale Farms, Inc., Harpro, Dykstra Construction, Mother Nurture, HCC, Griffin Utilities, Farm Credit of Central Florida, Blacks’s Insurance and Financial Services, State Farm-Tony Lee, Enhanced Healthcare, Propagation Whiskey Bar and Kitchen, R 7 M Logistics Solutions, Suncoast Wealth Solutions, ELT Landscape, Gould’s Air Conditioning and Heating, Holiday Inn Express, Stephanie Eisenbach – LPT Realty, Florida Strawberry Festival, South Florida Baptist Hospital, Catering By The Family, Compass Charter Schools. Couter, Aviles & Company – Trey Stevens, Florida Insurance Center Inc., Ali Sobh & Jenny Rothman, Jenkins Roofing Tampa, Inc., Ace Realty & Auction, Hopewell Funeral & Memorial Gardens, CPS Investment Advisors, Patterson Companies, Brewington's Towing & Recovery.
We would also like to thank the following Jitterbug Sponsors: Apex, Edna’s On The Green, Elite Site Development, Fancy Farms Inc, Fazoli’s, Fred’s Market Plant City, Alan Hill, Deanna Hurley Photography, Robert Lepianka, Cathy Martin – Signature Realty, Dub & Pec McGinnes, M-N-M Construction, Jennifer O’Neil Mortgage Lending, Pipe Pros, Plant City Elks Lodge #1727, Plant City YMCA, Professional Glass, Publix, Jeremy & Lisa Rhodes, Derrell & Monette Spears, Tampa Bay Orthopedic Surgery Group LLC, Westcoast Enterprises, Wish Farms and Mark & Lori Yarbrough.
Thanks to all the Rotarians who made this event possible. Special thanks to the members of the DWTL Committee: Jodi Stevens, Chairwoman; Doug Watson, Chairman; Sebastian and Serenity Ball; Shaun Bryant; Krissie Dilley; Kayla Drawdy; John Haney; Tamara Jemison, Brittany Keys and Jim Scott.
We would also like to thank all the attendees. We appreciate you helping to make this one of the premier Plant City Fundraising events. We hope to see you all again next year on Friday October 25th, 2024. We are always looking for dancers as well so let us know if you’re interested.
The photos in this story and in the photo album below were taken and provided by Deanna Hurley Photography.
