Saturday, more than $17,000 was raised for the American Cancer Society during the 2016 Dancing with the Relay Stars of Pearl River County.
The event was held at the Centreplex in Picayune and more than 360 tickets were sold, Relay for Life event lead Lisa Lee said.
“We have a lot of great volunteers and people who are passionate about finding a cure for cancer,” Lee said Saturday.
This year’s Relay for Life theme is lighting the torch of hope: faster, higher and stronger, Lee said in previous coverage.
“We’re doing the Olympics-theme based on the Olympics that’s happening this year,” Lee said in January. “People in our community are affected by cancer in some way. Our goal is to ultimately find a cure for cancer.”
Attendees waited in anticipation to see who, of the 14 dance couples, would win this year’s coveted Mirror Ball trophy.
Last year’s top winners were Sandy Kane Smith and Donna Perkins.
This year’s participants included Faith Hill Cooper and Ted Barze´; Gina Ferro Rivero and Derek Turnage; Julie and Jeff Samples; Virginia Eleanor Ogden and Brian Perkins; Carmen and Victor Leon; Melissa and Alan Lumpkin; Natalie and Mark Glorioso; Raquel Theriot and E Jae James; Megan Becnel and Rhett Unbehagen; Linda and Scott Giaise; Jessica Smith and Hunter Gill; Joellyn Berry and Keghan Odom; Sue Bounds and Lenny Unbehagen and Donna Perkins and John Dobson.
This year’s judges were Reba Beebe, Sandra Barker Bolton, Eddie Young and Jimmy Watts.
With a perfect judges’ score of 40, James and Theriot won first place. Coming in second was Bounds and Unbehagen and Perkins and Dobson won third place.
The audience chose Melissa and Alan Lumpkin as their favorite dancers. The People Choice’s award, where people placed donations in a couple’s bucket, was awarded to Odom and Berry. Inside their bucket was $614.
The Relay for Life of Pearl River County will be held on May 14 at 4 p.m. at Jack Read Park.
For more information, contact Lee at 601-394-8453 and through Facebook at Relay for Life of Pearl River County.