The Livingston County Catholic Charities (LCCC) annual fundraiser, Salute to the Stars & Celebrity Dance Competition, raised over $17,000 to benefit its senior outreach programs. The event was held on March 18 at Crystal Gardens in Howell.
Four teams competed in the judged dance competition for the overall Dance Competition trophy. Teams included: Dr. Terry & Kate Braciszewski, coached by Alex Henry and Corina Szabo of Arthur Murray Dance Studio Ann Arbor; Renee & Ed Chodkowski, coached by Michelle Marzejon of Michelle’s Academy of Dance and Performing Arts Center (MADPAC); Karen Perez &
Carlos Garza, coached by Kayla Daley of Spotlight Dance Studio; and Tracy Patterson & Branden Cathey, coached by Gabrielle Gow of The Dance Project & Epic Events. Each team chose an exciting dance style and routine to perform during the competition. The teams spent weeks practicing for their performance.
Judges for the dance competition were Maria Stuart, Mona Shand, Sheriff Mike Murphy, and Crystal Thoman. They had a tough job selecting a winner from the 4 fabulous dance routines!
The winning dance team was Team #2 – Renee & Ed
Chodkowski with a fun character theme dance style performed to a music mix including “Bad to the Bone” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”Choreography was provided by Michelle Marzejon of MADPAC.
In addition to the overall dance competition award, a second award, Fan Favorite, was given out to the team that raised the most funds through both on-line voting during the weeks leading up to the event and in-house voting at the event. Team #1 – Dr. Terry and Kate Braciszewski took home the Fan Favorite award for the second year in a row! A total of $5,448 was raised through voting which support LCCC’s Senior Outreach programs that serve home bound and low income county seniors. Over 83 percent of the seniors LCCC serves in their outreach programs live at or below 150 percent of the national poverty level.
The evening also included strolling dinner stations; a mini silent auction; a Good Will offering; honoring a community Star, Mimi McEvoy, for all of her work with seniors in our community; and a lively dance performance by The Dance Project dance team Andrew White and Beckah Iafrate.
The event raised over $17,000 to help support LCCC Senior Outreach programs and other agency programs.
After the awards, the dance floor was opened up for guests to enjoy some lively dancing. Tracy Patterson of Team #4 even taught the crowd some fun line dancing moves.
The event was made possible by sponsors: St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital, Dr. Edward Loniewski, Garrison Enterprises LLC, Beth & Gerry Munsell, Colleen & Steven Pryslak, K of C Council #7304, K of C Council #12295, Pinckney Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Bredernitz Wagner & Co. PC, Old Oak Financial Planning, Micro Works Computing Inc., Anne Pavlic & Mark Robinson, Borek Jennings Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, and Thomas Matthews of Neal D. Nielsen Attorneys at Law.
