event raised over $400,000 for charity - NEW BREVARD COUNTY RECORD
ABOVE VIDEO: Army Veteran and Melbourne City Councilman Tim Thomas won the 8th Annual ‘Dancing for the Space Coast’ along with his dance instructor Heidi Arnold from Dancin Dance Studio in Indialantic on Saturday at the Clemente Center.
WATCH REPLAY: 2022 ‘Dancing For the Space Coast’ Charity Fundraiser Event Raises Over $400,000 For Local Charities.
ABOVE VIDEO: Army Veteran and Melbourne City Councilman Tim Thomas won the 8th Annual ‘Dancing for the Space Coast’ along with his dance instructor Heidi Arnold from Dancin Dance Studio in Indialantic on Saturday at the Clemente Center.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Army Veteran and Melbourne City Councilman Tim Thomas won the 8th Annual ‘Dancing for the Space Coast’ along with his dance instructor Heidi Arnold from Dancin Dance Studio in Indialantic on Saturday at the Clemente Center.
The charity fundraiser event set a record for the amount of money raised at an event in Brevard County by raising over $400,000 for local charities Promise in Brevard, House of Hope, Veterans Memorial Center and Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Charity.
Thomas is a Melbourne City Councilman and Senior Army Instructor at Viera High School. He was elected to the Melbourne City Council in November 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. He is also a member of the Melbourne-Orlando International Airport Authority Board.
Tim Thomas was born in Quincy, Illinois, but grew up in Pensacola, Florida. He attended Tate High School and played football for legendary coach Carl Madison. Tim graduated from Tate in 1983 and received a football scholarship to Marion Military Institute where he was selected for the Army Early Commissioning Program.
Upon his Commissioning in 1985 as a Second Lieutenant, Tim served in the Alabama National Guard with the 20th Group Special Forces and the 117th Field Artillery Battalion while completing his degree at Auburn University in Montgomery (AUM). He graduated from AUM in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Government and was selected for Active-Duty service in the United States Army.
Tim served in the Army for 23 years and held numerous key leadership positions at the Division, Corps and Department of Defense level and served two combat tours in Iraq. He is also one of a few Americans ever allowed access into North Korea. In 1998, Tim and his Search and Recovery Team were allowed into North Korea where they recovered and repatriated the remains of nine Army soldiers who were killed in North Korea during the Korean War.
In 2002, Tim earned a Master’s of Science degree in Administration through Central Michigan University while attending the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel at Patrick Air Force Base in 2010.
Tim’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 OLCs), Army Commendation Medal (with 2 OLCs), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (with 2 OLCs), National Defense Service Medal (with 2 OLCs), Southwest Asia Service Medal (with 3 Stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Saudi Arabia Liberation Medal, Airborne and Air Assault badges.
Upon retirement in 2010, Tim was immediately hired by Viera High School to start up an Army JROTC program. Tim is in his 12th year as the Senior Army Instructor at Viera High School with 200 Cadets making it one of the largest JROTC programs in Brevard County. Tim is also very active in the community supporting homeless veterans through Operation Stand Downs and most recently leading the efforts with Viera High School JROTC Cadets as well as Brevard County Veterans in securing passage of the “All American Flag Act” through the Florida State Legislature in 2015.
Tim’s community awards include a 2019 Resolution passed by the Brevard County Commissioners recognizing his heroic efforts in helping save a young man’s life who was suffering from Sudden Cardiac Arrest by performing CPR.
He also received a Central Florida 2019 Humanitarian Award for his efforts with Paul Alfrey and John Casey in setting up the Bahama Relief Missions to bring needed supplies to the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian.
Lastly, Tim was recognized by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition and the Florida Tech Alumni Association for his efforts in spearheading the renaming of Airport Blvd to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. He is a member of the Association of the United States Army, the Military Officers Association of America Cape Canaveral Chapter and was also selected by Senator Marco Rubio to be on his United States Military Academy at West Point selection committee. His wife, Heather Thomas, is a dual sworn deputy with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. They have three children Tommy (28), Savana (25) and Dallas (20). They attend the First Baptist Church of South Brevard in Melbourne.
Tim’s Instructor: Heidi Arnold
Heidi has been teaching dance for over 20 years and is the proud owner of Dancin’ Dance studio. She first started dancing at the age of 3 when her parents enrolled her in lessons and she has been dancing ever since.
Heidi loves being able to pass on her passion and knowledge of dancing to others. She was a star on her school’s award winning dance team.
S She has trained extensively across the country including West Palm Beach, Orlando, and New York.
When she started teaching at a local studio, Heidi quickly became the lead advanced instructor.
For those who couldn’t get a ticket or attend the event, Space Coast Daily live-streamed all the exciting action live On-Demand via the Space Coast Daily TV App. The Space Coast Daily TV app is available for download in the Apple TV App Store, Amazon Fire TV Store and Roku TV Channel Store.
Over the last 10 years, “Dancing for the Space Coast” has become the largest charity event in Brevard County and the 2022 edition raised more than $400,000, which will benefit the House of Hope, Promise in Brevard, the Veterans Memorial Center and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Charity.
Tim Thomas Wins With Patriotic-Themed Dance Routine
The Grand Champion of this year’s event was Melbourne City Councilman and Viera High School ROTC Senior Army Instructor Col. Tim Thomas and his instructor Heidi Arnold from Dancin’ Dance Studio in Indialantic. Thomas, a highly decorated retired U.S. Army officer, wowed the crowd with his patriotic-themed dance routine.
Dancer Ashley Buescher of Promise in Brevard and instructor Barry Johnson of Melbourne Ballroom placed second. The team of Danielle Masucci, a Realtor for Blue Marlin, and instructor Primo Garcia placed third.
This highly entertaining event also showcased the outstanding efforts of dancers Zachary Biddulph, Lenora Caines, Barbara Furtney, Mindy Gibson, Rob Medina and Jayvo Scott.
Leading up to the event, the local celebrities dancing in the event helped raise money months prior to the event, while preparing for their complex dance routine in front of a massive crowd.
The charity event was hosted by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and emceed by Sheriff Wayne Ivey who helped facilitate a live auction and live dance performances by dance professionals and local celebrities who competed to raise money for Brevard County non-profit organizations.
“The true stars of the event are the dancers who work diligently to raise money for these worthy causes,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
Bragging Rights on the Line
Each celebrity dancer was matched up with a professional dancer as they competed in a ballroom dance – and for bragging rights as the best dancer in Brevard.
On the evening of the competition, each dance pair competed in a choreographed ballroom dance that will be scored by a panel of judges. During the show, couples earned scores based on several technical skill factors, but the judges’ scores alone don’t decide the dancer’s final score.
Leading up to the actual performance, the dancers already scored 60 percent of their points through their fundraising endeavors to benefit needy charities.
Dancing For the Space Coast is presented by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and sponsored by L3Harris and Space Coast Daily and Florida Tech.
The post Army Veteran Tim Thomas, Dancin Dance Studio’s Heidi Arnold Perform Patriotic Dance to Win 2022 Dancing for the Space Coast appeared first on Space Coast Daily.