I Won!

On Saturday March 7^th, I participated in the Richmond Community Hospice Foundation’s Dancing with the Richmond Stars fundraiser and competition. Myself and five other Richmond celebrities danced. I was the event’s double winner taking home both the people’s choice award for fundraising the most money as well as the judges award for best dance.

This wonderful evening of dinner and dance raised $25,000 for the Richmond Hospice. The event took place at the Riverside Grand Ballroom and included dinner, a dance competition, judge’s comments, returning champions showcase, a professional dance showcase and to cap off the evening, dancing for all.

I knew immediately after hearing about the Richmond Hospice Association Dancing with the Richmond Stars event last March that I wanted to participate. In February 2013, I was diagnosed with Ocular Melanoma; a rare form of eye cancer. I came face-to-face with the fears and uncertainty of being diagnosed with a potentially terminal illness. My perspective on life changed. I was tired of standing on the sidelines. I decided to take a risk and try something I’ve always wanted to do but was held back by a fear of ballroom dancing. As an added bonus I was able to raise $5,570.00 for the Richmond Hospice Association.

I was paired with ballroom dancer David Marasigan. He spent six weeks teaching me the cha-cha and we danced a three-minute routine to the song Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. It was an amazing experience to learn and do something completely out of my comfort zone. The evening itself was wonderfully organized and everyone involved in the hospice was extremely supportive and kind. I highly recommend either participating or attending this event.

Thank-you to everyone who supported me by either donating or attending the event to cheer for me and a very special thank-you to David for his time patience, understanding and expertise. He was such a great teacher and now friend that I have continued to take ballroom lessons with him.

This past Monday everyone who organized and participated in the event got together at the Richmond Funeral Home for a wind-up party and video screening. It was great getting together with everyone and to celebrate all our hard work and the events success. That also meant that the video of my winning dance is available for you to watch.