Raevengeance
02-26-06, 10:15 AM
Source (http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/articles/2006/02/26/news/news01.txt)
Local viewer of ‘Dancing with the Stars' wins trip to be in tonight's audience
By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN
LEESBURG - JoAnn Reardon is excited about tonight's finale of “Dancing with the Stars,†and she has every reason to be thrilled: She has been chosen as one of the lucky viewers to be in the show's audience.
“At the end of a couple (earlier) shows of the ‘Dancing with the Stars,' they had a little blurb, ‘Win a trip to L.A. for the finale,' †she said.
So she immediately jumped onto her computer and logged on to the appropriate Web site. Reardon was one of the five winners the Orlando ABC television affiliate picked from among 1,500 entries.
“And here we are!†she said, adding she has asked her good friend and line-dancing buddy Shirley Booth to accompany her on the all-expenses paid trip to California. “It's my understanding that most of the ABC affiliates from across the country participated, so I'm [arse]uming most of the audience Sunday night are going to be winners of this contest.â€Â
She is ready for the finale show, which airs at 8 tonight on ABC.
“The actual finale of seeing who wins, and hopefully getting to meet some of the people, will be a great highlight of the night,†Reardon said.
She has enjoyed following the show and is particularly fond of the Latin dances.
“I just love that, and I love the ballroom dances, too, and seeing all of the beautiful gowns,†she said.
Her friend feels the same way.
“I am excited, and I am so glad that she won,†Booth said, adding she also is thrilled to be asked to go.
Both women live in Pennbrooke Fairways and their husbands will be home watching the show on TV.
Reardon loves to envision herself on the dance floor as she watches “Dancing with the Stars.â€Â
The Leesburg line-dancer never has learned ballroom dancing.
“I admire it, but unfortunately I am married to a man who has absolutely no interest in dance whatsoever,†she said of her husband, Pat. “I've always said, ‘In my next life I'm going to come back 5-foot-7, and I'm going to marry a dancer.' â€Â
Reardon plans to wear a glittering black gown to the finale and is eager to see who wins the top prize.
She has been cheering for Stacy Keibler and her professional dance partner, Tony Dovolani, yet Reardon was surprised by Keibler's freestyle dance performance on Thursday night.
“It was not her best effort, and the impression I got from it is that she is tired,†Reardon said, adding she sided with the judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli in voicing their disappointment of the long-legged wrestler's performance. “I agreed with the judges wholeheartedly.â€Â
“The minute Thursday's show was over I called (Shirley) and said, ‘I think Drew Lachey has locked this thing up,' †she said. “I really do.â€Â
Lachey and his partner, Cheryl Burke, had perfect scores Thursday night with their dances, and Reardon was impressed by Lachey's performance. She believes most of America felt the same.
Reardon has found she has become a celebrity among her neighbors.
“I think everybody here watches this, and when people found out I won, they were terribly excited. Everybody has been saying, ‘Go have a good time! Enjoy it, and wave because we're going to be looking for you.' â€Â
Reardon is looking forward to experiencing the moment.
“It's a whirlwind tour and we're going to have a good time cheering on everybody,†she said. “It's going to be a great trip.â€Â
Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillagesmedia.com.
[/b]
YAY - we got a former Stacy fan on Team Drew! :)
Local viewer of ‘Dancing with the Stars' wins trip to be in tonight's audience
By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN
LEESBURG - JoAnn Reardon is excited about tonight's finale of “Dancing with the Stars,†and she has every reason to be thrilled: She has been chosen as one of the lucky viewers to be in the show's audience.
“At the end of a couple (earlier) shows of the ‘Dancing with the Stars,' they had a little blurb, ‘Win a trip to L.A. for the finale,' †she said.
So she immediately jumped onto her computer and logged on to the appropriate Web site. Reardon was one of the five winners the Orlando ABC television affiliate picked from among 1,500 entries.
“And here we are!†she said, adding she has asked her good friend and line-dancing buddy Shirley Booth to accompany her on the all-expenses paid trip to California. “It's my understanding that most of the ABC affiliates from across the country participated, so I'm [arse]uming most of the audience Sunday night are going to be winners of this contest.â€Â
She is ready for the finale show, which airs at 8 tonight on ABC.
“The actual finale of seeing who wins, and hopefully getting to meet some of the people, will be a great highlight of the night,†Reardon said.
She has enjoyed following the show and is particularly fond of the Latin dances.
“I just love that, and I love the ballroom dances, too, and seeing all of the beautiful gowns,†she said.
Her friend feels the same way.
“I am excited, and I am so glad that she won,†Booth said, adding she also is thrilled to be asked to go.
Both women live in Pennbrooke Fairways and their husbands will be home watching the show on TV.
Reardon loves to envision herself on the dance floor as she watches “Dancing with the Stars.â€Â
The Leesburg line-dancer never has learned ballroom dancing.
“I admire it, but unfortunately I am married to a man who has absolutely no interest in dance whatsoever,†she said of her husband, Pat. “I've always said, ‘In my next life I'm going to come back 5-foot-7, and I'm going to marry a dancer.' â€Â
Reardon plans to wear a glittering black gown to the finale and is eager to see who wins the top prize.
She has been cheering for Stacy Keibler and her professional dance partner, Tony Dovolani, yet Reardon was surprised by Keibler's freestyle dance performance on Thursday night.
“It was not her best effort, and the impression I got from it is that she is tired,†Reardon said, adding she sided with the judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli in voicing their disappointment of the long-legged wrestler's performance. “I agreed with the judges wholeheartedly.â€Â
“The minute Thursday's show was over I called (Shirley) and said, ‘I think Drew Lachey has locked this thing up,' †she said. “I really do.â€Â
Lachey and his partner, Cheryl Burke, had perfect scores Thursday night with their dances, and Reardon was impressed by Lachey's performance. She believes most of America felt the same.
Reardon has found she has become a celebrity among her neighbors.
“I think everybody here watches this, and when people found out I won, they were terribly excited. Everybody has been saying, ‘Go have a good time! Enjoy it, and wave because we're going to be looking for you.' â€Â
Reardon is looking forward to experiencing the moment.
“It's a whirlwind tour and we're going to have a good time cheering on everybody,†she said. “It's going to be a great trip.â€Â
Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillagesmedia.com.
[/b]
YAY - we got a former Stacy fan on Team Drew! :)