Photos courtesy Jeff Laydon
Scene ... helping area children while enjoying the entertainment of Dancing with the Pagosa Stars. The annual Seeds of Learning fundraiser raised more than $228,000.
By Danyelle Leentjes | Seeds of Learning
Last Saturday, Aug. 19, six Pagosa stars and their coaches took the stage to dance for Seeds of Learning’s fundraiser, Dancing with the Pagosa Stars. Now, all the costumes have been put away and the final votes tallied, and we have been blown away by the results.
Through local community support, ticket sales and votes from friends and family from around the country, Dancing with the Pagosa Stars successfully raised more than $228,871. All of the proceeds from this event go directly toward supporting our sliding scale tuition for families attending Seeds.
The families, teachers, administration and Seeds board of directors are filled with gratitude for this amazing outpouring of support for Pagosa’s youth. With 235 guests, several dozen volunteers, stars, coaches, committee members and production crew, this event illustrates the amazing support Seeds receives from this community. It is because of each and every one of these people that Seeds is able to continue to provide low-income and at-risk children with high-quality early education.
We could not have better representatives of Seeds of Learning than our stars and coaches this year. Every year we choose stars that are a broad representation of the Pagosa Springs community, are well-known and respected in the community and have giving spirits. And this year was no exception.
Our winners were:
• Mirror Ball Trophy Winner Star: Sherry Phillips and coach Nolan King.
• Best Showmanship Star: Gustavo Palma and coach Kylie Ross.
• Best Male Dancer Star: Josh Butcher and coach Ashley Butcher.
• Best Female Dancer Star: Jessica Low and coach John Gilliam.
• Most Original Performance Star: Becky Deitemeyer and coach Nash McNichol.
• Paramount Video Award Star: Tim Wightman and coach Sharina Ramsay-Adams.
