Meet the pairs taking part in the May 18 Dancing With the Stars:

Fran Brolley and Melissa Burgett, dancing for Illinois Valley Community College Foundation.
Brolley is the director of development for the foundation. He said the fundraiser looked like a great opportunity to learn something new. �My experience up to then had been just at weddings and embarrassing my children,� Brolley said. �I have a newfound appreciation for the skills that (dancing) takes.� Burgett said she started dancing in kindergarten and has performed for one year with DaviDon Entertainment Group. The two will perform a mamba and a swing-style Rockabilly show dance.Illinois Valley Community College foundation aims to enhance the College�s ability to provide educational opportunity and public service, through sponsoring scholarships and academic programs and purchasing needed equipment for the college.

Mark Lippert and Meredith Donahue, dancing for Easter Seals. Lippert is the sales manager at WLPO, WAJK and WKOT radio stations, and has participated in Easter Seals� annual local telethon for at least six years.Donahue has been dancing for at least seven years. She started as a child, but returned to dancing in high school, when she realized extra dance classes could give her an edge in musicals.The two will perform a jive and would not reveal their planned show dance. �It�s a surprise, but it has to do with one of his hobbies,� Meredith said.�And it�s not watching television,� Lippert added. Easter Seals helps people with disabilities through a variety of services from child development centers to physical rehabilitation and job training for adults.

Breck DeBernardi of Illinois Valley Cellular and Eric Chambliss, dancing for Ottawa Friendship House DeBernardi once learned tap, jazz and ballet and said she chose the charity after discussing the dance competition with friends and coworkers. �I just think it�s a really good charity. There�s a couple of my friends who have family members who are involved there,� DeBernardi said. Chambliss started dancing six years ago, through school musicals and recitals, before beginning to work for DaviDon Entertainment Group two years ago. The two will perform a tango and a �country challenge� show dance with some elements of tap dancing.
Ottawa Friendship House supports adults with developmental disabilities.

Mark Schneider and Grace Lethiot, dancing for March of Dimes. Schneider said he has �zero� dancing experience and volunteered for the event as a way to help the March of Dimes, including serving as Illinois Valley Community board chair and the March for Babies chairman for the La Salle-Peru location.�The March of Dimes is my passion, as far as charity work, and the division director asked me to do this,� Schneider said. He described rehearsals as challenging but entertaining. Lethiot has been dancing for 17 years, including three years with DaviDon Entertainment Group.The two will perform a jive dance and a hip-hop show dance.The March of Dimes works to �give every baby a healthy start,� Schneider said, by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Dave McClure and Jane Schomas, dancing for Youth Service Bureau. McClure is the executive director of Youth Service Bureau. He said he has three weeks of experience dancing.
Schomas has taught dance for 15 years, including eight years at Illinois Valley Community College, with her husband, Rod Schomas. The two will perform a foxtrot and a western swing dance. �Rehearsals are wearing be out, but they�re going fine,� McClure said. �We�re actually having fun,� Jane said.Youth Service Bureau is a nonprofit child welfare agency that offers counseling, foster care and daycare, among other services, to La Salle, Marshall, Bureau and Putnam counties.

Justin Setchell and Erin Gibson, dancing for Rotary International. Setchell, a Mendota photographer, is a member of the Mendota Rotary Club.�(Rotary International) has a hand in a lot of interesting charities that help out across the world, both locally and internationally,� Setchell said.�It sounds kind of fun and challenging. I think it�ll be a good show,� he said of the competition.Gibson starting dancing as a child and also practiced gymnastics for years.The two will perform a Viennese waltz and a show dance that incorporates quickstep, tap and tumbling.�It�s a free for all,� Gibson said. Rotary International, a service club organization, works to eradicate polio worldwide, promote peace and understanding, increase literacy and improve communities around the world.

Anne Duttlinger and Rod Schomas, dancing for Hegeler Carus Foundation. Duttlinger is the foundation�s executive secretary and may have an advantage over other competitors: growing up, she took 12 years of ballet.�That�s been some time ago � I haven�t been a kid for a while,� Duttlinger said, laughing. �I wouldn�t go so far as to say it�s a passion, but I really love it.�
Schomas has taught dance for 15 years, including eight years at Illinois Valley Community College, with his wife, Jane Schomas.The two will perform swing and cha-cha dances.Duttlinger said she has enjoyed learning the swing. �It�s high energy and fun. It�s reminiscent of the �40s,�
Hegeler Carus Foundation works to preserve the Hegeler-Carus Mansion and provide philosophic and cultural education for the community.

Dave Rabideau of Noah�s Ark Carpentry, Ottawa, and Amanda Sedlock, dancing for Illinois Valley Animal Rescue. Rabideau said he became involved after a coworker, who volunteers for IVAR, asked him t. �Personally, it would be just the challenge of it, and because it�s for a good cause,� Rabideau said. He said he has taken one dance class, a swing class at IVCC 4 � years ago.
�It�s something different. It was a challenge,� Rabideau said.Sedlock has been dancing for six years, starting after she became a Streatorette at Streator High School. She has danced 2� years with DaviDon Entertainment Group.The two will perform a tango and an �80s workout-themed show dance.�It�ll make everybody laugh and that�s what it�s for � entertainment value,� Rabbideau said.
IVAR rescues stray, abused or neglected animals to serve not only the animals but the community as well, according to Chris Ellberg, IVAR president.

Karen Rhodes and Don Grant Zellmer, dancing for A Servant�s Heart Soup Kitchen.Rhodes, like many of the choreographers, said she learned to dance as a child, years ago. But she has not done much dancing since then.Zellmer is one of the founders of DaviDon Entertainment Group. The two will perform a cha-cha and a show dance with music hinting at Rhodes� career in radio. A Servant�s Heart Soup Kitchen serves hot meals in Ottawa May 15-Sept. 15, when PADS shelter is closed. The organization conducts many other services and has provided a soup kitchen for three years.