Local Celebs Battle It Out in 11th Annual Dance Challenge

One of Rome’s most anticipated events, the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia’s Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge, returns for its 11th annual show on Aug. 3.

The community event, inspired by “Dancing with the Stars,” will be a night of fun and warmth as the community gathers to raise money and support SAC’s work in the community.

The fundraising event was created in 2011 but this is its second year back since the pandemic

“A blessing would be an absolute understatement. It’s been humbling. It’s been an honor to see how this has grown and been embraced by the community,” executive director of SAC Kimberly King said of the event. “Every year, one of the things that we walk away most grateful for is the relationships that were built that season.”

The event will start at 7 p.m. at the Rome City Auditorium. Ten teams will compete for the Mirror Ball Awards in front of a panel of four judges.

The competing teams are made up of a well known Rome resident paired with a choreographer/dancer. The contestants are chosen by SAC’s fundraiser board and come from all over Rome.

This year’s dancers are:

♦ Bonny Askew, a former Rome city commissioner, dancing with his daughter, Morgan Askew of the Polk County Public Defender’s Office.

♦ Dr. Bennett Brock of Harbin Clinic dancing with Tara Ogle of The Dance Centre and Harbin Clinic.

♦ Dr. John Cowan of AdventHealth Redmond dancing with Dicie Waters of The Dance Centre.

♦ Elizabeth Davis of WLAQ is dancing with JoAnna Parker of Elm Street Elementary and The Dance Centre.

♦ Sarah Huffman of the City of Rome dancing with Caleigh Schroeder of Schroeder’s New Deli.

♦ Shaylan Johnson of Blooming Oak Photography and the NWGA Minority Business Association dancing with Russell Evans of The UPS Store.

♦ Dr. Rebecca Yaun of Lieberman Family Chiropractic dancing with Stevanie Bell of Rome Civic Ballet and the Bartow County School System.

♦ Jeff Sherwin of Sweet Pickles Café dancing with Hannah Camacho of The Dance Centre and Baird Ballet.

♦ Amber Taylor of Taylor & Co. Realty Group, Keller Williams, dancing with her sister-in-law, Lee Morris, a stay-at-home mom and freelance choreographer.

♦ Dr. Dawn Williams of Coosa High School dancing with Nicky Mann of FLS Transportation and WoodMann Creations.

Kimberly King said the event welcomes contestants who will be good champions for the organization. They try to get well-known community members from different parts of Rome to best represent the community.

“It’s really fun to see the hearts that come out and the personalities that come out of each of the participants, too,” she said. “It’s really fun because you’ll see people that you would never imagine dancing or on stage or even having like talent in that way that they would be gregarious enough to get on stage.”

The Sexual Assault Center hosts the event to raise funds for the organization and the services it provides for the community. Last year’s event raised over $213,000.

Tannika King, the co-chair of the dance challenge, said the event was created to attempt to raise a large amount of money for the center. She explained that before the fundraiser, the nonprofit was asking for donations, but it felt like they were “nickel and diming” the community.

Since its start, the Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge has raised more than $1.5 million for the center.

“Now we can maximize what we get out of the event, and that way, the team at the center can focus on serving their clients the majority of the year,” she said.

The SAC uses the funds raised to provide care to survivors of sexual assault. The nonprofit is a 24/7 victim advocacy program that provides medical, mental health, education, and advocacy services to survivors.

The center is a confidential resource that is open to survivors of any age and circumstance. Kimberly King explained that the center is for all survivors whether they were assaulted recently or years ago. There is no expiration date for receiving help.

“It’s a difficult topic and this is a very fun way to get people thinking about it and just understanding this does happen here in Rome,” Tannika King said. “We need resources like the sexual assault center.”

The SAC serves Floyd, Chattooga, Gordon, Polk, and Bartow counties. Its main office is located in Rome, and satellite offices are located in Cartersville and Rockmart.

The SAC is holding a pre-event party on the night of the dance challenge. It starts at 4:30 p.m. at Broad&Fifth. The party is exclusively for Title, Diamond, Platinum, Executive, and Gold level corporate sponsors and VIP ticket holders.

Ticket sales for the Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge start on July 15. General admission tickets are $50.

“We do want people to act quick because it is always a sellout,” Tannika King said.

Look out for more coverage of the dance challenge lead-up, including individual team highlights in upcoming editions of the Rome News-Tribune.