Few seats remain for Florence's Dancing with the Stars Fundraiser

Florence businessman Tim Norwood may be known as “The Dancing Bear,” but don’t be fooled.

Norwood says he’s actually no dancer at all.

In fact, he said he’ll consider his upcoming appearance in Florence’s Dancing with Stars a success if he simply manages to stay on stage.

“Some fraternity brothers gave me that nickname. In college, we’d go out and have a few beers and we‘d get on the dance floor and here I was this big guy with no rhythm trying to dance. So they jokingly gave me that name and it stuck,” Norwood said.

“I’ve still got no rhythm, can’t even get a beat. I’m definitely way out of my comfort zone,” he said, revealing he’ll be dancing “The Jive” to the Hall and Oates classic “Maneater.” “It’s been a challenge, but it’s been a good experience, and I think I’ve improved since I first started. That’s still not saying much, but I think I’m at least a little better.”

Despite his self-proclaimed aversion to dancing shoes, Norwood said he agreed participate in the event because it gives him an opportunity to raise money for a great cause, The School Foundation. The School Foundation was established in 2000 to raise private donations in the form of grants to support the 15,000 students at 23 schools in Florence School District 1. The money raised is not used for operating expenses, but instead for enhancement expenses such as student academics, citizenship, teacher quality, school safety and district leadership.

“The School Foundation does great things,” Norwood said, “and we’re going to raise lots of money for them.”

That’s exactly what School Foundation Executive Director Debbie Hyler hopes for this year’s event. She said last year’s inaugural Dancing with the Stars raised about $50,000 and it looks like this year’s efforts will exceed that.

“I have no doubt we’re going to raise more this year,” Hyler said. “The event sold out in a week and a half. What a great problem to have. I think it speaks to just how much fun people had last year and how much they’re looking forward to doing it again.”

While ballroom seats at the Southeastern Institute of Manufactoring Technology (SiMT) are sold out, there are a few seats remaining in the 800-seat SiMT auditorium. Auditorium guests will enjoy food and beverages, be able to watch the Florence “celebrities” and their dance partners hotfoot it across the dance floor via a 30-foot video screen, and will even get a chance to see most of the couples in person as they come to the auditorium to beg for votes.

And those votes are important – they determine the winner of the Florence Dancing with the Stars trophy.

“We’ve got a real competitive bunch this year, and they are doing a tremendous job on the fundraising side,” Hyler said. “But the competition doesn’t end there. A lot of them are out to win the skills competition, as well.”

The dance pairs each will perform a 90-second routine. Throughout the evening, attendees will be able to cast as many votes as they’d like for their pair of choice. Votes can be purchased for $10, at the event or online prior to it (www.florencedancingwiththestars.com).

This article by Traci Bridges originally appeared on scnow.com.