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The 12th Annual Stanly County Dancing With the Stars fundraiser for the Butterfly House celebrated the music of Motown Saturday night at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center.

With the theme “The Magic of Motown,” 11 dancing pairs competed for mirror ball trophies while raising $129,993 for the local children’s advocacy center in the event hosted by emcees Mandy Cord and Wes Tucker.

Amy Yow, executive director of the Butterfly House, said she says to herself every year, “How did we beat last year?”

“Every year is different, but different in such a great way. The dancers become a family and they really are supportive of each other,” Yow said.

At the end of each event, Yow said, she has gotten “at least 10” people to ask about dancing in the event the next year.

The annual competition, she said, “helps educate the community on what we do” at the Butterfly House.

“It makes a difference in the kids’ lives, putting bad guys behind bars and making sure kids are safe and getting trauma-informed care,” she said.

Dr. Marietta Abernathy, the interim facility executive and chief nursing officer of Atrium Stanly, greeted the public in attendance and watching online, while the keynote speaker was Rebecca Lacik, a nurse/midwife working for Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory.

Lacik shared stories about three individuals for whom the Butterfly House helped, noting the importance of early child development per the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“The experiences children go through from birth to 8 years of age lay down the foundation for their life,” Lacik said. “It is through these most informative years that children will learn how to view the world around them for the remainder of their lives.”

Six of the 11 pairs took home awards, three awarded by the judges and three audience awards for teams raising the most funds.

The judges’ overall winner was the first team up on the night, Summer and Jacob Todd. Summer works for Atrium Stanly in the emergency room, while Jacob is a data scientist with Battelle Memorial Institute and the strength and conditioning coach for the South Stanly football program.

The Todds came out of the gates with a performance choreographed by Jessie Springer to a medley of songs including Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”

Jacob said winning the trophy was their goal.”

“It was good to get (the dance) out of the way first, and then we just got to enjoy the rest of the night and cheer everyone else on,” Summer said. “Everyone did so, so well.”

The performance featured several lifts along with a backflip from Jacob.

“I knew I couldn’t dance, so I knew I had to do something big,” he said.

“We both really appreciate dance,” Summer said. “To be able to continue to dance as we get older, stay mobile, stay in shape and active, is huge.”

Former Miss Stanly County Kate White and Albemarle assistant football coach Cade Whitley, Team Four Left Feet, took the judges’ runners-up trophy, while third place went to Team Disco Inferno, UNC-Charlotte student Peyton Hatley and Ryan Steele, who is employed at Fiberon.

The audience award went to Team Maverick, consisting of Lorie Lisenby, owner of Stanly Aesthetics, and Kyle Ziebarth, who works for the Albemarle Police Department.

Ziebarth said it “was definitely a group effort with a multitude of events going on, raffles and bake sales.”

Lisenby said it was amazing to win for what she feels “is a fantastic cause (which is) very near and dear to my heart.” She said their fundraising efforts included “a lot of baking,” having sold numerous cakes for the cause.

Second place went to Team Sister Sister, Kelly Morgan, who works for Charlotte Pipe, and Ashley Hartsell, the business office manager of Anson Health and Rehab. Third place was awarded to Team Will’s Place Girls, Allison Hudson Mingle and Corey-Beth Travaglini.