More than 200 Villagers packed the Lake Miona Recreation Center for a dance to benefit Villages Honor Flight program.
The crowd danced to the music of the local band, 3 For The Road+ 1 until after 9 p.m. Villager Donna Frances kicked off the music with a rendition of “God Bless America,” which brought the crowd to its feet.
The audience applauded the veterans in attendance and gave a warm reception to two active duty soldiers who came to The Villages from Ocala to aid in the fundraising event. Sergeant First Class Laura Mboup and Staff Sergeant Jason Rogers are Army recruiters stationed in Ocala. Sergeant Mboup said they were there to dance with Villagers if they donated to Villages Honor Flight. Both soldiers were kept busy on the dance floor, setting a fund-raising record.
Villagers Nadine and Sam Landis helped organize the sold out dance. Last year, the dance raised $5,000 and Nadine was happy to report that the dance raised $5,700 dollars this year.
“Twenty-four local businesses and restaurants provided prizes which were really popular with the crowd,” she said.
Nadine and Sam are no strangers to putting on dances to help local charities. They helped put on eight dances for the Sumter County Sheriff’s Kids, Cops and Christmas program and have helped several charities since moving to The Villages 16 years ago.
Captain Robert Siemer of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office was present. When the Landis put on the Christmas Fundraising dance for the sheriffs program Captain Siemer helped raise money by dancing with the Villagers for donations. He was the first to donate to dance with Sergeant Mboup.
