Kathi Mead and Mary Clarke receive top honors at Girl Scouts’ annual Dancing With Our Stars event

TOMS RIVER – Ten of Monmouth and Ocean counties most influential business people took to the dance floor November 3 in a battle to determine who could show off the best moves in front of an audience of more than 350 people and a panel of local celebrity judges.

The Dancing with Our Monmouth and Ocean County Stars event at Eagle Oaks Country Club, Farmingdale, raised more than $76,000 for the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore. All proceeds benefit programs for girls in Monmouth and Ocean counties to help them grow into women of courage confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

This is the second year for the Girl Scouts’ dance event. The featured 2016 dancers were Mary Clarke, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Toms River; Laura Grunin, The Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation; Michael Hennicke, Oliverie Funeral Home; Joe Leone Introna, Joe Leone’s Italian Specialties; Kathi Mead, Investor’s Bank; Geri Oliverie, Oliverie Funeral Home; Jonathan Petro, Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle and Sacks; Lou Russo, Townsquare Media; Domenick Servodio, TD Bank, and Ron Wollner, CDS.

All dancers partnered with professional dancers from Shore DanceSport, Brick; Fred Astaire Dance Studio, Manasquan, and Little Silver Ballroom, with the exception of Michael Hennicke and Geri Oliverie, and Laura Grunin and Jonathan Petro. Those pairs received professional lessons from one of the studios.

Dancers were judged on a 10 point scale by a team of celebrity judges who are also well-known business leaders. Noelle Carino, Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce, joined the judges panel this year. Carino won the 2015 Dancing With Our Monmouth and Ocean County Stars event. Jeremy Grunin, The Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation, also served as a first time judge. He also participated in 2015. Returning as judges for the second year were Thomas Hayes, New Jersey Natural Gas, and Carol Stillwell, Stillwell-Hanson, Inc.

To ensure impartiality, Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little stepped in as guest judge when Jeremy Grunin’s wife took the dance floor.

In addition, Jim DeAngelis, Lakewood Blue Claws, served as emcee for the evening. DeAngelis also danced in the event in 2015.

After dancing was complete, two awards were presented. The People’s Choice Award was given to Mary Clark and her partner Sean Nepveu of Shore DanceSport. The award recognizes the dancer who raised the most money to support the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore prior to the event.

The top award, the mirror ball trophy given to the dancer judged best in the competition, was given to Kathi Mead and her partner Luciano Catelli of Shore DanceSport.

Photos from the event can be seen on Tom Zapcic Photography's official Flickr page here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...

The date for the next Dancing With Our Monmouth and Ocean County Stars event has already been set for Thursday, November 16, 2017. Those interested in dancing can contact Madalaine Rice, chief development officer, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore at (800) 785-2090.