Sixteen famous figures in Henry County are practicing their dance moves, with the goal of raising money to keep children safe.

  Prevent Child Abuse Henry County will host the inaugural Dancing with the Stars of Henry County fundraiser on February 9 at 6 p.m., at the Locust Grove Event Center, 280 Mose Brown Drive. Tickets are $75 per person, which covers dinner, live entertainment, a drink ticket and dessert.

  Robin Jones, coordinator of Prevent Child Abuse Henry and First Steps, said most of the participants in the contest do not have a background in dancing. Still, she said each of them wanted to do their part for the fundraiser.

  “We just wanted something unique that we could bring to the community, and bring back to the cause of preventing child abuse and providing information to help children and families, said Jones. “We tried to start with local celebrities – people who are well known in our community and have a big heart,” said Jones.

  Prevent Abuse Henry County was launched in 1994. Since that time, Jones said, the organization has worked to help strengthen parents and families in a number of ways.

  “We have an ongoing program called First Steps that we do with Piedmont Henry Hospital,” said Jones. “We provide support, parenting information and referrals to community resources. We do follow-ups for the babies’ first two months, and we currently serve over 1,000 families each year.”

  The competition will feature eight dancing pairs competing in dance styles including hip-hop, contemporary, musical theater and jazz. Each pair, said Jones, will compete in just one performance.

  “There are a couple of them that have had some experience, but most of them are just novices at dancing,” Jones said. “All of the dancers have set up Everyday Hero pages, and the dancer that raises the most money will get the Prevent Child Abuse Henry County fundraising champion award. That trophy will be passed from year to year.”

  Jones said Jeanne Palpant of Upstage Dance Center and Giselle DiBlasi School of Ballet, both in McDonough, have helped the dancers to get ready for their performances in the contest.

  “They have done all the choreography and the dance lessons for all of the couples,” said Jones.

  The fundraiser is co-chaired by former Commissioner Fred Auletta and State Sen. Emanuel Jones. Judges for the contest include Realtor Beau Kelley, Henry County Superior Court Judge John A. “Trea” Pipkin and the Rev. Dr. E.W. Lee, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in McDonough.

  Kristy Vigil, a volunteer with local organizations including the Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy, will dance in the contest with Henry County Police Deputy Chief Mike Ireland as her partner. Attorney Tessie Edwards will dance with retired paramedic and firefighter, Leroy Travis.

  Shana Thornton, public information officer for the City of Stockbridge, will team up with DiBlasi School performer Kavon Sadler. Dr. Stephanie Gordon of The Women’s Center in Stockbridge will compete alongside her partner, Dr. Peto Fallas of Fallas Family Vision in McDonough.

  Don Dunlap, business teacher at Excel Academy in McDonough, will team up with Dr. Linda King-Kohl during the competition. Dunlap shared his suspicions regarding how he was chosen for the Prevent Child Abuse Henry County event.

  “My son actually serves on their board of directors,” said Dunlap. “I’m thinking he told the board that he could probably convince me to do this. I do not dance. I’m a musician by training, so this is really out of my comfort zone.”

  Dunlap acknowledged that his “anxiety level” increased when he and his fellow contestants assembled for the first time in November to prepare for the contest.

  “I wanted to make sure it wasn’t something I would totally screw up,” he said. “I was glad that they chose musical theater for me. It just seemed safer. I’m 54, and I don’t have the kind of dexterity that I had at 24.”

  Dunlap said he is looking forward to sharing the dance floor with King-Kohl.

  “It’s something that we’re both excited to do because it helps us increase our efforts to raise awareness of the importance of preventing child abuse in Henry County, so we get ahead of the curve,” said Dunlap. “Prevent-ing it ahead of time is much better than picking up the pieces after abuse has already occurred.”

  Lynna Schmidt, president and artistic director of the Henry Arts Alliance, will team up with Jeffery Brown, regional director for the Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services.

  Schmidt’s husband, Dr. Todd Schmidt of Ortho Atlanta, is also slated to participate in the contest. He will dance with Lydia Pierre of the Pierre Branding Group.

  Lynna Schmidt emphasized that she and her husband are not ironing out their routines at the same place. She has been practicing at the DiBlasi school, while he has been at Upstage Dance.

  “My husband and I are doing dueling hip-hop dances,” said Lynna Schmidt. “He hasn’t seen mine, and I haven’t seen his. Hip-hop is not anything I know how to do, but I like giving it a try. The music is so fun. I realize that I’m not going to be able to hip-hop dance. But I’m having fun. I’ll make a fool of myself, and I hope you laugh.”

  She added that the fundraiser enables her to speak out about the importance of child-abuse prevention.

  “Child abuse is just appalling to me,” she said. “I don’t actually understand how anybody could abuse a child. So, for me to volunteer, help raise money and commit to this was really important.”

  David Campbell, External Affairs Manager of Georgia Power’s Metro South Region, will dance with Dr. Lily Henson, chief medical officer at Piedmont Henry. Campbell said he had doubts about his dancing abilities, but that he agreed to participate once he knew who would benefit from the event.

  “I’m probably one of the worst dancers that you could be around,” said Campbell. “I’m doing this only to support Prevent Child Abuse Henry County. Anything else would have been a definite ‘no.’”

  But, Campbell said now that the competition is drawing near, he and his partner are “in it to win it.”

  “This has been total fun,” said Campbell. “Dr. Henson and I have made this a fun experience. Jeanne, our dancing instructor, has proven that she can teach two left-feet people how to dance.”

  Like his fellow contestants, Campbell said he relishes the chance to help Prevent Child Abuse of Henry County.

  “This agency protects and helps our most vulnerable segment of the community,” he said. “If we don’t create opportunities within agencies like this, our children will be totally neglected.”

  Trophies in the dance contest will be awarded for Best Musicality, Most Entertaining, Best Showmanship, and the overall Mirror Ball Champion.

  Prevent Child Abuse Henry County has established a fundraising goal of $25,000 for the dance competition. Robin Jones added the nonprofit group hopes to raise the money through sponsorships, a silent auction and ticket sales.

  “At the event, we will also have pledge cards for people to pledge money to support Prevent Child Abuse Henry County,” she said.   For more information, call 770-507-9900, e-mail pcahc@pre ventchildabusehc.org or visit https://www.preventchildabusehc.org.