2019 February Colony Magazine

teacher and then patron of the
arts. She is on the board of the
Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation,
which offers art classes free
to the community. Nancy and her
husband Doug own Peachy Canyon
Winery. Her choreographer is
Christina Troxel, who is another
life-long dancer. She has taught
swing and ballroom dancing at the
Agricultural Hall in Atascadero.
Tom Butler
Atascadero Unified School District
Superintendent
Tom Butler
will present
a swing
dance with
choreographer
Kara
Frenzel. His nonprofit is the Greyhound
Athletic Foundation. He
made an appearance in the 2018
Colony Days Parade as part of the
comedy in the entry on his bicycle.
He is a member of the Atascadero
Rotary Club and is on the board of
directors for the San Luis Obispo
Museum of Art. Unlike some of
the other community stars, Butler
does haven’t any dancing experience.
His partner will balance his
lack of dance experience. Frenzel
is a West Coast Swing champion
and was recently nominated
for the California Swing Dance
Hall of Fame.
Susan Funk
Atascadero City Council member
Susan Funk will perform a
country
western
dance with
Aaron Avila
and choreographed
by
Laura Slania.
Funk’s
nonprofit is
Atascadero chapter AAUW. The
funds raised by Funk for AAUW
will help underwrite the organization’s
scholarship program. Susan
and her husband, Gordon, along
with their college-age son have
lived in Atascadero for the past 10
years. Funk is one of newest members
of Atascadero City Council.
While Funk does not have a lot of
dancing experience, she is a singer
and has sung with the SLO Masters
Chorale and Canzona. Her
partner started dancing at The
Graduate when he was attending
Cal Poly two decades ago.
He started dancing when he was
attending Cal Poly. Slania teaches
dance and gives private lessons.
She is also a paralegal and buys
and sells antiques with Avila.
Steffi Ketzler
Steffi Kitzler will dance the
Samba with professional dancer
Justin McMillan as choreographed
by Frank Sanchez. Ketzler’s nonprofit
is the El Camino Homeless
Organization. Kitzler is not new
to Dancing With Our Stars but
this is the
first year
she’s participated
as a
community
star. She
was born
and raised
in Germany
and moved to the United States in
2000 and to Atascadero in 2003.
She became a United States citizen
in December 2018. She owns
and operates Baby Seals Swim
Academy, which provides aquatic
survival and swim lessons to
infants and young children. Her
partner has worked for nonprofits
around the county doing a variety
of tasks. He is currently the owner
of The Ridiculous Fun Camps, a
party and event rental business. He
is also writing a “choose your own
adventure” book for young dancers.
Jan Lynch
Jan Lynch will dance East Coast
Swing with Charlie Bradley, choreographed
by Frank Sanchez.
Lynch has lived in Atascadero for
32 years with her husband, Patrick.
She’s not a newcomer to dancing.
She was
an aerobic
dance
teacher for
many years
and has taken
lessons
in many
different forms of dance, including
clogging and line dancing. While
Lynch is representing the Kiwanis
Club, the organization will direct
what money comes in toward the
Woods Humane Society Education
Program, which teaches
children the importance of being
a responsible pet owner. Her partner
is a retired bank executive who
picked up his dancing shoes and
motorcycle gloves after leaving his
professional life. Their choreographer,
Sanchez, has been a part of
the fundraiser for the last several
years, serving as director for four,
and continues on this year. He
grew up in a large, musical family
and ballroom dance training in his
early 20s.
Karen McNamara
Karen
McNamara
will perform
a
Nightclub
2 Step choreographed
by Chris
Harmon.
Her nonprofit is the Atascadero
Printery Foundation. Karen is
one of the founders, and current
president, of the Atascadero Printery
Foundation, which is working
toward rehabilitating the Printery.
She owns Hope Chest Emporium
in downtown Atascadero and is a
Realtor with Classic Coast Realty
Team of Pacific Home Brokers.
Karen is also the outgoing chairperson
of the Atascadero Colony
Days Committee, and a member
of the Atascadero Optimist Club.
Heather Moreno
Atascadero Mayor Heather
Moreno will present a freestyle
dance choreographed
by Rod
Ware. Her
nonprofit
is Friends
of the
Atascadero
Library. Moreno has participated
in the fundraiser before. She was
a community star in 2014 and has
continued to dance in the show
each year. She has a background
in jazz and tap lessons and has
continued dancing into her adult
life. Moreno owns Weight Breakthrough
and was recently sworn in
as mayor of Atascadero after serving
as a city council member. Her
choreographer is a retired firefighter
and is focusing on dance
in his retirement. He is a student,
choreographer and director with
the San Luis Obispo School
of Ballet Theatre.
PAST CHAMPIONS
2010:
Jim Lewis with
choreographer Debi Lewis
2011:
Bill White with
choreographer
Sharon Davis
2012:
Jeannie Malik and
Jim Patterson
with choreographer
Judy Magonacelaya
2013:
Dan and Eileen O’Grady
with choreographer
Frank Sanchez
2014:
Rolfe Nelson
with choreographers
Leigh Ormonde
and Chris Harmon
2015:
Vicky Morse with
choreographer Chris Harmon
2016:
Mary Kay Mills
with choreographer
Ernie Gamble
2017:
E.J. and Tobi Rossi
with choreographer
Tracy Rossi
2018:
Brenda May with
choreographer Brian Reeves
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