Arkansas celebrities to dance for children’s tumor fundraiser
Let’s dance. Put on your red shoes and dance the blues. — David Bowie
And dance they will. But Anne Imanuel Preston, a news anchor, says she is more comfortable in front of a teleprompter than on the dance floor. Shane Broadway, vice president of university relations at Arkansas State University, who says his dance moves are mostly limited to the electric slide he learned in college, says he is willing to do almost anything for kids.
Based on Facebook photos of Preston being thrown around by her dancing partner, professional dancer Brian Earles, she has nothing to worry about. The lithe mother of 19-month-old Pierce looks like she has been kicking up her heels all of her life.
Preston and Broadway are two of the five local celebrities who will be competing in Dancing With Our Stars — the annual fundraiser for the Arkansas Children’s Tumor Foundation. The event raises money to support research of the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis (NF).
Neurofibromatosis causes tumors to form on nerve tissue. These tumors can develop in the brain, spinal cord and nerves. Neurofibromatosis is usually diagnosed in childhood or early adulthood.
With the covid-19 pandemic still raging, this year’s fundraiser will be a virtual event starting at 7 p.m. Sept. 10. The dances will be recorded and streamed on the date of the event. The dancers will perform at different times with limited physical contact to ensure social distancing.
Preston, who anchors newscasts from Little Rock for a number of television stations in Delaware, Maryland, Florida and Mississippi, has never danced competitively. She was a high school cheerleader so she is familiar with some of the moves.
“This was something I really could relate to because it is a genetic disorder and as a parent to a toddler myself, I know what it is like to be a genetic carrier for a disease and wonder what your child’s life is going to look like.
“My husband and I are both carriers of cystic fibrosis and when we got pregnant with my son, there was a real possibility for us — a 25% chance — that my son was going to be affected with that genetic disease.
“Learning more about neurofibromatosis, I could really relate to what some of these parents were going through. And I just thought I had to do something about this because you’ve probably heard of cystic fibrosis. But neurofibromatosis — I was surprised to learn— is more common than cystic fibrosis, hereditary muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease, but yet fewer people have heard of it. So to get the opportunity to raise awareness for NF and to raise money for NF research was something that I really
wanted to be a part of.”
About two weeks after Pierce’s birth, Preston and her husband, Mike, learned their son did not have cystic fibrosis.
Broadway will compete with professional dancer Victoria Fender. He is dancing in honor of Will Sexton, the child of one of his friends. Will is an NF ambassador.
Broadway also is dancing to repay what he considers a family debt. His brother Joe Don was diagnosed with leukemia almost 30 years ago and has been in remission for 20 years.
“During that time, Saline County, where I live, was just wonderful. There were softball tournaments to help raise money for us. There were blood and platelet drives and all of those kind of things,” Broadway says.
Broadway’s college fraternity also used money from its annual fundraiser to buy Joe Don a power recliner that could help him get out of the chair.
“I said something to my dad about how we are never going to be able to repay everyone for everything they have done for our family. And he said ‘Son, you’ve got to find a way to give back’ and so what I’ve been trying to do for the last 30 years is trying to find ways in which I can pay it forward for other families who are going through different things.
“And I’ve always been up for doing pretty much anything — especially for a kid. I’ve jumped out of airplanes, I’ve driven a race car at the I-30 Speedway, I’ve been buried from head to toe in sand and rolled in toilet paper,” he says. “If it encourages or helps a kid, then I am pretty much going to say yes. Even dancing, which is not my strong suit.”
While winning the competition would be nice, Preston and Broadway say spreading the word about neurofibromatosis and the Children’s Tumor Foundation is the ultimate goal.
“I’m competitive in whatever I do so I will always try to do the best that I can. But I agree with Shane in that the goal is to raise as much money as we can for this cause. Raise as much awareness because awareness equals support,” Preston says.
“And if people know what neurofibromatosis is, I think that it can then perhaps get more support in all ways possible. The ultimate goal here is support and to raise money, but I think we’re all going to be battling it out for that mirror-ball trophy,” she says.
The other “stars” vying for that trophy are Dr. Greg Sharp, a professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and senior vice president and chief medical officer at Arkansas Children’s Hospital; Christina Lecuyer, a professional athlete, threetime reality television competitor, confidence coach and motivational speaker; and Elicia Dover, the co-host of “Good Afternoon Arkansas” on KATV, Channel 7.
More information about Dancing With Our Stars and the Children’s Tumor Foundation is available at ctf.org.