Moves ‘Hotter Than a Volcano’ at Dancing for Safe Haven

Guests hurried to the Broadway Ballroom in the Omni Nashville Hotel, excited for the opportunity to support a star dancer and a wonderful cause, all in the same event. This year’s Dancing for Safe Haven was a fun-filled evening of dinner and a lively Dancing with the Stars-style competition, chaired by Harry Allen, Kearstin Patterson, Candice Reed and Shane Tarleton. After a bustling cocktail hour and red carpet photo-op, patrons were invited by the evening’s hosts, Danielle Breezy and Shawn Parr, to sit and enjoy a beautiful three-course meal, provided by the Omni.

Pat McDonald was announced as the recipient of the 2023 Hero Award. Pat deeply and wholeheartedly invests in Safe Haven’s mission, and her impact is woven into the fabric of the organization’s history. After her standing ovation calmed, Pat — the embodiment of a Safe Haven hero — joked, “If you’ve been doing this since 1984, you can’t be young, but you do have to like the people you work with in order to do it for 39 years.” A dear friend to Safe Haven’s staff and a loving supporter for families, Pat remains a steadfast donor and volunteer.

Dominique Burns, speaker for this year’s Mission Moment, left not a dry eye in the house as she recounted all that Safe Haven had done for her family, encouraging many to participate in the paddle-raise and donate to this fantastic organization.

Once dinner and the silent auction concluded, the long-awaited competition kicked off. Six star dancers were paired with ballroom instructors to compete, and each pair performed for a panel of three judges and a perennially sold-out audience. Judges Heather Byrd, Joshua Mundy and Shabaz Ujima had a difficult decision before them, as did the audience. After much deliberation, the trio decided that Sandi Borchetta had claimed a second award — Judges’ Favorite — beyond Fundraising Favorite. The audience voted for the high-energy Gerell Webb as Audience Favorite. Congratulations and bravo to all!

This year’s record-breaking attendance raised a whopping $1.29 million to help Safe Haven serve more than 300 local families experiencing homelessness in 2023, and guests departed, eagerly awaiting next year’s event.