Friday evening the Polk Education Foundation “tripped the light fantastic” as it unveiled a fabulous new scholarship fundraising event entitled Stepping Out for Education. The event featured five well known Polk County business leaders that voluntarily took ten hours of ballroom dancing instruction and then danced themselves into the hearts and wallets of more than 300 guests. (Pictured above left are dancing stars Gail McKinzie, Bonnie Parker and Tracy Porter.) Held at the Lakeland Yacht Club, those attending enjoyed a wonderful dinner as Tampa Electric’s Cindy Price (and PEF Board member) emceed the festivities keeping everyone focused on two priorities – fancy footwork and fundraising. Thousands of dollars were raised to help Polk County graduates pursue their dreams.
Good sports and even better dancers included: Gail McKinzie, superintendent of Polk Public Schools; Bonnie Parker, president of Winter Haven Sun Trust Bank; Jerry Miller, community affairs manager for Progress Energy; Tracy Porter, executive director of the Polk State College Foundation and Tim Harris, a School Board member and a representative of MIDFLORIDA Credit Union. All had accomplished partners to mentor them through the ten weeks of dance instruction and all brought applause from the audience as they performed twists, turns and lifts to waltzes, tangos, quick step and other ballroom standards.
At evening’s end Jerry Miller took the judges’ top honors (Miller scored a perfect 30 in his final dance routine) while Bonnie Parker received the People’s Choice Award and also raised the most money through $1 votes – more than $3,000. (Parker also scored a perfect 30 in her final routine.) In all the five candidates raised more than $7,000 in that voting alone. Sponsor dollars and attendee ticket purchases ensure that those Stepping Out truly “stepped up,” and the Polk Education Foundation was the true winner for what is sure to be a popular new annual event.
All the dancing stars were on their mark, and the judges gave each high marks for technique. We might add that Gail
McKinzie does a mean jitterbug, and Tracy Porter’s waltz was spectacular as well. Bonnie Parker’s dress she wore for her “Last Tango in Lakeland” (right) will long be remembered.
Wow, it was truly a special evening. Congratulations to Susan Copeland and everyone at the Polk Education Foundation for a great new evening of fun.
Fun was had by all…the participants and the audience! Kudos to the 5 volunteers who gave so much time and energy to raise money for such a worthy organization! Bonnie and Tracy..you were both gorgeous and talented. I think you should go “pro” :)
Thank you Bob for the kind words! Thanks also to our five fabulous “celebrity” dancers – their performances (and costumes) were truly amazing and made for an action packed, fun filled evening for all! Yes, this will be an annual event for the Polk Education Foundation, so we are already taking names for potential dancers for next year. Dance experience IS NOT required or even proffered; the fun comes from virtually inexperienced dancers learning and strutting their stuff! A final thank you to all that supported the event by attending or in your People’s Choice votes!
Stepping Out for Education is one of my favorite fundraising events I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending! The venue, the dinner, and the entertainment were all amazing. Congratulations to Bonnie, Tracy, Jerry, Tim, and Dr. McKinzie for making it a night to remember all while raising much-needed funds for the Polk Education Foundation. I can’t wait for next year!