The couples have danced, the votes have been tallied and the winner of the fourth annual Dancing with the Stars for the American Red Cross has been crowned.

We are not talking about the ABC hit show, however. Dancing with the Stars for the American Red Cross was held at Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wis, on February 18, 2012. The event was hosted by George Graphos, Cami Rapson and Chris Roth, WBAY-TV 2 anchors, and judged by Rebecca Messenger and Tom Choudoir.

It is an event designed to raise money through the voting for different “stars” from throughout the community who are competing for the coveted Mirrored Ball trophy.

The main event centers around ten “star dancers” who prepare for months to create and perfect their performances for the event. The star dancers were paired with a dancer from DanceSport of Green Bay who guides them through the process of learning their dances.

This year’s show brought the largest crowd to date with 810 guests and volunteers. It also was a successful year for fundraising with $189,000 being raised to support Red Cross programs and services in the community.

"I've volunteered at this event for several years, and not only is it a fundraiser for a great cause, but it is also a great time for all involved," said NDA junior Carly Vanderheyden, who attended the event as a Red Cross volunteer.

The night started off with a dinner and was followed by the main event of the night: two showcases of dances in which each star dancer performed one dance.

The crowd was constantly involved from start to finish through various signs, noise makers and other props to show support for their favorite star dancer.  

“It was a fun experience. It was well-planned out and the audience felt like they got to be a big part of it which made it really fun, especially having people you know dancing! They raised so much money, and that was a very cool thing to be a part of,” said NDA junior Dana Warpinski, who attended the event in support of her dad who was a star dancer.

This year’s star dancers were Kate Burgess, Owner & President of FulfillNet; Tommy Fox, On Air Personality, WIXX; Brad Hutjens, Vice President/Chief Credit Officer of Nicolet National Bank; Staci Kring, Vice President, Retail Sales, Schreiber Foods; Tom Lemkuil, Architect; Dawn McCoy, Owner of Tranquility Spa; Tricia Nell, attorney, Liebmann Conway Olejniczak & Jerry, S.C.; Rebecca Schuld, meteorologist, WBAY-TV2; Matt Smith, weekend morning anchor, WBAY TV2; and Robert (Bob) Warpinski Jr, IBM Senior Location Leader & Client Executive.

The star dancers were paired with DanceSport dancers Rane Cegelski, Chris Flores, Kari Hinrichs, Jay Morth, Taryn Oleson and Alyssa Zellner, who were led by Janet Gollnick, owner of DanceSport of Green Bay and artistic director of the event.

Throughout the night, there were several auctions to further increase the funds raised for the night. On the ballot was a weekend getaway to Door County, a framed and autographed James Jones jersey, and the main ticket item, a ten-course meal for twenty with Green Bay Packer Charles Woodson and wife April, which ended up going for $12,000 after a fierce bidding war.

Once the dances and auctions were finished, the night continued with the awards ceremony where several awards went to very deserving dancers. The awards consisted of the top honor Mirror Ball Fundraising Trophy for the dancer who raised the most money, a Judge’s Choice and People’s choice for each showcase, and other special judge’s awards.

This year’s Mirrored Ball trophy went to not one, but two lucky dancers. Kate Burgess and Staci Kring were both presented the prestigious Mirror Ball Fundraising Trophy for their fundraising efforts to support the Red Cross. Both women each raised upwards of $47,000, through donations from friends, family and the community.

The People’s Choice award went to Tommy Lemkuil and Taryn Oleson for their jive to “Footloose” in showcase one and to Staci Kring and Rane Cegelski for their Foxtrot to “Fever” in showcase two.

The Judge’s Choice award went to Brad Hutjens and Alyssa Zellner for their Cha Cha to “Give Me Everything (Tonight)” in showcase one and to Matt Smith and Kari Hinrichs for their waltz to “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” in showcase two.

The judges presented Special Judges Awards to Tom Lemkuil and Kate Burgess for their showmanship, to Staci Kring for her technical expertise as well as to Robert Warpinski for his fundraising efforts.

Following the awards ceremony was an after party for guests to dance to music provided by band Big Mouth & the Power Tools.

"No matter who won, the night was really fun and you could tell that all of the dancers put in a ton of effort,” Warpinski said.

The event exceeded the expectations of the Red Cross, so much so that the necessity of plans for expansion is in question as the popularity of the event continues to grow.

Everyone who attended was pleased with the planning, execution and environment of the event. It proved to be an enjoyable time for all and the Red Cross looks forward to next year and what the next Dancing with the Stars will bring.

"I have a lot of fun volunteering at the event every year and I am already looking forward to next year’s event," Vanderheyden said.