Dancing with the Martin Stars 2024 Breaks Attendance and Fundraising Records for the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition

Dancing with the Martin Stars 2024 broke all records this September for massive attendance, sky-high fundraising, and wall-shaking energy levels in support of the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition.

On Saturday, September 21, nine community volunteers and their professional dancing partners took to the stage of the Lyric Theatre in Stuart and brought the audience to their feet with applause for dances like the tango, waltz, and cha-cha. Because the event was a sell-out long before the date, another huge crowd cheered on the dancers at a live-stream watch party at Ross Hall in the Pittenger Center on the campus of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

An astonishing $350,000 was raised by the dancers, sponsors and ticket sales. “We’re so grateful to all of our dancers, sponsors and supporters,” Martin County Healthy Start Coalition CEO Samantha Suffich said. “The funds we raise through this fun event go directly to our vision of ensuring that in Martin County, every baby is born healthy, every mother is supported, and every father is involved.”

This year’s Martin Stars lineup included Christian Anderson, dancing with local professional Daisy Krakowiak-Wiebe; Casey Caplan with Brian Spector; Lorna Day with Angel R. Tamayo III; Matthew Durbin with Emily Matos; Jonathan Garich with Tanya Chaves; Stephanie Martinez with Michael Chaves; April Milner with Eliseo Ruiz; Matthew Right with Eva B. Velez and directed by Marianella Tobar; and Sue Whittington with Jang Don.

For months the dancers learned their steps and chose fabulous costumes. That was only part of the challenge, however. They also raised funds with a variety of mini events like dinners, wine tastings, and auctions to boost their fundraising totals.

The dancers’ goals were to dazzle the judges with their footwork and also raise the most money. In a fiercely competitive battle, Christian Anderson and Daisy Krakowiak-Wiebe were declared the 2024 Overall Champions as Top Fundraising Team and Top Dancing Team. The First Runner Up Dance Team was April Milner and Eliseo Ruiz; the Second Runner Up was Casey Caplan and Brian Spector. The First Runner Up Fundraising Team was Sue Whittington and Jang Don; the Second Runner Up Fundraising Team was Lorna Day and Angel Tamayo. In the first ever live voting, Sue Whittington and Jang Don won the People’s Choice Award.

Faith Jacobsen, dance teacher at Exquisite Dance Company and sales manager for the AI Fitness tech company Oxefit; Craig Glavin, manager of Astra Dance Studio and a two-time winner of Dancing with the Martin Stars as a teacher and once as a coach; and Chris Thiel, a top performing realtor with RE/MAX and a former dance teacher and competitive ballroom dancer served as Judges. Charles Jones of CDJ Entertainment served as emcee at the Lyric, with Dr. Ed Savage emceeing the live feed at Ross Hall.

“We’re so grateful for the entire community who support us each year,” Suffich said. “From our local celebrities who danced their hearts out on stage and raised funds off stage, to the audience that filled the Lyric to capacity, everyone brought their passion for both the event and the cause it supports.”

The Martin County Healthy Start Coalition expressed its thanks to all of its sponsors and supporters, in particular Title Sponsor Mark R. Kaiser Dermatology; Samba Sponsors Women’s Health Specialists and Rommel Wilson Memorial Fund; and Tango Sponsors Ooo La La, Muscle Vodka, and the Lichtenberger Foundation.

For the full live show, click here

For stage and behind the scene photos, click here

For the sponsor party photos, click here