Dancing With Our Stars this Saturday

Feb. 1—CANNONSBURG — Eight duos are ready to show off their moves on the dance floor in an annual event that raises funds for the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center.

The ninth annual Dancing With Our Stars is scheduled for Saturday at the Boyd County Convention and Arts Center. A cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m. followed by a gourmet dinner by the 3J Group at 7 p.m.

Voting began on Dec. 7 and will continue through the end of the event. Voting is available online through PayPal and the Highlands' website or at the museum.

As previously printed, the following are the entrants:

Couple No. 1: Hunter Scott and Erin Quillen. A Russell native, Hunter Scott is a gymnastics instructor at Pride Athletics in Greenup and assistant cheer coach of the 16-time UCA National Champion, Greenup County High School cheerleaders.

Also a Greenup County native, Erin Quillen always enjoyed athletics, playing softball and soccer in school. She has a bachelor's degree in business from Morehead State University and a nursing degree from Shawnee State University. She has worked in the emergency room and as a flight nurse and now is a business partner at the Nest Day Spa and Aesthetic Center in Russell.

Couple No. 2: Dustin Howard and Ashton Young. Business owner, barber and Grayson resident Dustin Howard has dance experience as a former University of Kentucky cheerleader.

His partner, Ashton Young, is a speech-language pathologist at Pathways Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. She is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and recent graduate of Marshall University. Ashton is a Kentucky native and danced for Tammy Jo's Studio and River Cities Dance Company for 10 years before joining the Eastern Kentucky University dance team.

Couple No. 3: Travis Williams and Sarah Williams. Well known for his chainsaw art, Travis Williams of Wurtland is an employee of Marathon Petroleum with more than 600,000 followers on his social media pages. He donates many pieces of his work for auctions and events to help raise money for local charities. He will perform with his wife, Sarah, owner of the Feathered Razor Salon and Barbershop in Flatwoods. She is a former Ashland Youth Ballet member and volunteered for nine years, where her daughter danced under instructor Maria Whaley.

Couple No. 4: Matthew Pierzala and Karen Pierzala. Ashland native Dr. Matthew Pierzala obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky, attended Pikeville University Medical School and his residency was at East Tennessee State University. He returned to Ashland and went on to change his career path to addiction medicine. He has a medical directorship position at Addiction Recovery Care.

His wife and dance partner, Karen, is a Rose Hill Christian School and Marshall University graduate. She is the education coordinator for Highlands Museum & Discovery Center, a RYT 200 yoga teacher for Eternal Yoga and a fitness instructor for both Eternal and the Ashland YMCA.

Couple No. 5: Josh Blanton and Cesiah Blanton. Josh Blanton is the plant manager for Vesuvius and an Ashland City Commissioner. As a fourth-generation employee of Armco/AK Steel, he has made his career in the steel industry, as well as working as an adjunct professor of Supply Chain Logistics at Marshall University. He also is a board member for CASA, Build Ashland and the Paramount Arts Center.

His wife, Cesiah, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in health and society. She currently attends Arizona State University where she is pursuing a master's in special education with a concentration in applied behavior analysis. She is an intern board certified behavioral analyst and provides applied behavior analysis therapy to children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders as well as other developmental disabilities or mental health conditions. She is the only therapist in the area to provide services in Spanish.

Couple No. 6: Scott Murphy and Andrew Steele. Huntington native Andrew Steele is the executive director at the Boyd County Tourism and Convention Bureau. He serves on the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Board and the FCI Ashland Community Relations Board.

Scott Murphy, a graduate of Morehead State University and a resident of Lawrence County, Kentucky, is director of community outreach for Ramey-Estep/Re-group and has helped individuals with behavioral health and substance abuse issues for the last 10 years. He teaches an adult Sunday school class at Ross Chapel Church and is chairman of the Substance Abuse Workgroup for the Healthy Choices Healthy Communities Coalition for northeastern Kentucky.

Couple No. 7: Justin Evans and Jason Rooper. Justin Evans serves as chief information officer at Members Choice Credit Union and owns his own business, Small Batch Bourbon Art. The Russell High School graduate has a bachelor's degree in networking and security. He volunteers his time helping Continuing the Legacy Foundation with events and helping local businesses with IT needs.

Following his military service, Jason Rooper moved to Ashland and studied safety at Marshall University. He recently started his own company, Brother's Keeper Safety.

Couple No. 8: Faith Fountain and Lauren Moore. Faith Fountain is an addictions and mental health therapist at Regroup. She volunteers her time at The Mill Café and Bakery on the weekends. She is currently working on her second master's degree for addictions counseling. She recently competed in the National United States Pageant as Ms. Kentucky, United States, where she was in the top 8 and won Ms. United States People's Choice.

A substance abuse counselor, Ashland native Lauren Moore volunteers her time by providing services to her clients and their families, raises money for animal shelters and gives back in any way possible.