A night with the stars

Last Saturday’s Dancing with the Stars fundraiser generated nearly $100,000 for Richmond County Hospice during the gala event hosted by the Cole Auditorium.

The $95,000 raised last Saturday eclipsed the $83,000 raised last year, which Richmond County Commission President Jeff Smart attributed to growing support for the event year after year.

“I couldn’t be more proud of that. Did y’all hear sold out? In Richmond County, that doesn’t happen folks. I had people calling me today wanting tickets, and I couldn’t sneak them through the back door,” Smart said. “… Last year, we topped around $83,000. The good news is we had more sponsors. We sold out, which is the most ticket sales you can have. We had a record number of sales from our dancers.”

Along with performances from the dancers, the event also featured a slew of restaurants putting their confections to the test as part of a contest. The event also featured performances multiple area dances troupes as well as more than 18 contestants performing in the competition.

“Thank you all so much for coming tonight to support Richmond County Hospice, and our mission to provide end of life care to our community. This beautiful Bridgerton-themed night would could not be made possible without each and every one of you. We were sold out guys, which is amazing,” said Kristina Leyden, CEO of Richmond County Hospice.

Despite strong performances from all competitors, high school sweethearts Ty Brewington and Rahmeishia McKiver took home the top prize. After performing the first time, the pair joined sisters Brandy Wheeler and Jessica Wheeler-White, couple JC and Karen Everett in the finals, but pulled away with one final spirited performance.

“We had great instructors with Sharon Nichols and Mary Kate Lambeth. To be dancing with my honey made it all worth it. With the lights, you can’t see much (of the crowd) that makes it much easier. We had the last dance. It was nerve-racking,” McKiver said.

Despite performing in front of a packed crowd, McKiver and Brewington maintained their composure during their final dance. For the couple, winning the top prize made the hours of preparation worthwhile.

“I feel great. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. I honestly didn’t see the crowd. Especially in the second dance, I was more into her. I blocked the crowd out a little bit. I’m just happy we won. I sacrificed a lot of time … I am surprised we won. We bumped heads a lot, but it was all worth it,” Brewington said.