By AMY ADAMS
news@readthereporter.com
The ninth annual Dancing With Our Stars benefit held last Friday at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Noblesville succeeded in raising more than $150,000 to support Meals on Wheels of Hamilton County.
Going into the show, Area Director of Wolfpack Restaurant Group Alec Wolf knew that he had a good chance of winning the People’s Choice Award based on online voting, in which each dollar donated equaled one vote.
However, performing his salsa routine to “Conga” by Gloria Estefan was another matter. Wolf had only a handful of days to rehearse with professional dancer Olga Cansino when he realized his original partner, Kristen Motz, wasn’t going to be able to perform.
“Olga stepped in like a hero,” said event emcee Brandon Bennett, director of Noblesville Parks and Recreation.
Judge Monica McClurg called the performance “red hot” and said that the salsa number was “the perfect ending act for the night.” The crowd seemed to agree based on the roar of applause.
Not only did Wolf and his partner end up capturing the most votes (dollars!) from the public to win the People’s Choice Award for the night, they were also named Judges’ Choice for male competitor giving them bragging rights as “Dancing With Our Stars Champions 2023.”
Dancing With Our Stars Judges’ Choice Champions for 2023 are professional dancer Scott Shook with his local celebrity partner Debby Pileri and professional dancer Olga Cansino and her local celebrity partner Alec Wolf. (Photo provided)
The female “Dancing With Our Stars Champions 2023” went to Judges’ Choice Debby Pileri, a competitive amateur tennis player and USTA umpire, for her Matrix-themed tango/cha cha, complete with black leather and dark sunglasses.
“I loved it so much,” Pileri told the crowd right after the dance. “I want to do it again.”
With this title, professional dancer Scott Shook is now a five-time Judges’ Choice winner for the annual show.
Coming in second for the People’s Choice Award was Jody Adams of Napleton Auto Group dancing the hustle/cha cha with pro partner Natasha Cox. Not far behind in votes, third place People’s Choice Award winner Lindsey McVey, owner of Just Lagom women’s clothing boutique on the square in Downtown Noblesville, put a country spin on the East Coast swing to Shania Twain’s “Don’t Impress Me Much” with her pro partner Rob Jenkins who has participated in Dancing With Our Stars for all nine years.
Other notable performances of the evening included human resource manager and community activist Sherese Martin’s crowd-pleasing cha cha to “Do What I Do” by Lady Bri with her pro partner Ed Godby-Schwab and Dr. Steven DeLee’s performance with pro dancer Julia Shook as Gomez and Morticia Addams in which they never broke character, even through the judges’ comments.
As much as audience members enjoy the dances, they also love the now infamous, and often hysterical, lead-in videos.
Following the performances, judges Monica McClurg, Rog and Amy Greenawalt, and last year’s champions Kris Beckwith and Philip Huang deliberated while an anonymous donor offered to match the contributions if the audience could raise $5,000 during the break. The total donations including that match equaled more than $152,000.
According to Executive Director Beth Gehlhausen, that money can go toward reducing hunger, improving health, and promoting independence for clients because of the generosity of Riverview Health in paying operating expenses such as rent and electricity for Meals on Wheels of Hamilton County.
Community Health Network served as Presenting Sponsor for the event for the third consecutive year. Platinum Rumba Sponsors included Lake City Bank, Napleton Automotive Group, Riverview Health, and Wolfies Northern Woods Grill. Gold Bolero Sponsors included The Honey Baked Ham Company and Current in Carmel. Silver Tango Sponsors included Five Star Senior Living, KSM CPAs & Advisors, The Fields Group, Boomerang Development, Conduct Curb, and Gibraltar Design.
At the end of the evening, the true winners were the elderly, disabled, and homebound residents of Hamilton County who will continue to benefit from the more than 60,000 nutritious meals delivered despite rising food prices, including a frozen meal program for weekends and a new breakfast program.
Speaking for around 500 community members who give their time and gas to help deliver meals, Board Member Ron Hanson described interacting with clients as the rewarding part of being a volunteer.
“They’re so grateful to the organization that we would have this program available for them,” Hanson says. “That is extremely rewarding for us – and I say ‘us’ because all the drivers feel the same way.”
In fact, some of them have recently begun an outreach program to visit with clients apart from delivering meals just to spend time with them.
To volunteer, visit MealsOnWheelsHC.org/volunteer or call (317) 776-7159.
Reporter photos by Amy Adams