Doug Gehrke and Lindsay Dieter were announced as this year’s Dancing with the Stars winners during the fundraising event on Saturday night at the Swan Lake resort.
The evening opened with Master of Ceremonies Tom Flynn who was unusually reserved told the crowd that the Marshall County Neighborhood Center serves 1,000 individuals each month and in 2019 they served 486 new house-holds.
Chris Garner, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Center spoke about the programming offered: the monthly “Lunch and Learn” workshops that allow clients to gain nutrition knowledge and the opportunity to cook healthy meals. “Project Rise Up’ and “Project Hand Up” offer their clients the chance to realize their dreams and believe they are worthy. She talked about helping citizens in all phases of their lives from the lonely and elderly to newlyweds, children and the disabled.
Garner talked about their plans to find or build a building that will create a space for growth, learning, dreaming and a place that offers hope. Last year they were offered the chance to purchase the ideal property, right in their neighborhood. She said it will take everyone working together to make the dream a reality. They need $159,000 to secure the property and a portion of the profits from Saturday night’s Dancing with the Stars fundraiser will help with that but they need much more.
Dancing with the Stars 2020 had a record turnout with nearly 500 guests. Thirteen celebrities, either individuals, couples or groups with the assistance of choreographers delighted the crowd with wonderful performance through the evening. At last count there were 4587 votes and the celebrity with the most votes was declared the winner about 11 p.m.
Performers and their vote totals were:
Menominee Teachers: Bianca Tinklenberg, Shelby Podemski, Jessica Heeren, Danielle Jones, Marcy Bogunia, Lauren Hall and Allie Brubaker. 149 votes
Lucy Carmona & Edgar Quiroz 45 votes
EDS Evolution & Nikki Pittman 70 votes
Anna Gillsinger & Mewsette Cartwright 1,349 votes
Darek & Erin Morris 269 votes
Lindsey Dieter & Doug Gehrke 1353 votes
Sara Matthews & Marcia Heintzberger 92 votes
Cori Humes & Mike Anderson 98 votes
Chelsey Firebaugh & Brooklynn Felke 305 votes
Black Cat Company: Chloe Garner, Anja Houin, Isabella Kain and Shiloh Milner 107 votes
Jessye Gilley & Christina Yoder 30 votes
Stacy Prather & Joseph Cartwright 219 votes
The Real MVP’s: Karmen Chaney, Tammy Bowling, Heather Delp, Tara Wolfe and Katie Milliser 501 votes
In between the two dancing segments a live auction was conducted by Dave Goebel from Oak Crest Auctions. Eleven different packages were auctioned. From a week-long stay at Pretty Lake to a week in a cabin in Colorado, a trip to the spring race at Bristol or a one day chauffeured RV wine tasting trip to Michigan there was something for everyone. The live auction raised over $14,000 for the center.
The Neighborhood Center is still figuring out the final totals from the fundraiser and will announce the amount they raised in the next day or two.
