2007 Board Members

Let’s meet the board members up close and personal.

President - Pat Hoffman - I have been ballroom dancing for the last 20 years. I’ve taken lessons at Dayton Ballroom Dance Club, Dayton, from Larry May, Fred Astaire Studio, and Bernice Dubro Studio. I am a former President of the Dayton Ballroom Dance Club. The past two years I partnered with Mary Ramirez Cook at DanceFest. I have four children and five grandchildren. Even after having suffered two strokes, I still participate and enjoy ballroom dancing.

Vice President - Pamela Howard - I'm sure I came into this planet dancing! I tapped my way through scouts at age 6. My parents entered me into jitterbug contests at age 12. I boogied around a version of American Bandstand at an Indianapolis TV station WLWI (?) in the '60s. . . . and then on to ballroom in my twenties. I'm sure of one more thing, I was born to dance. It's just that marriage, family, work, etc. etc. derailed the gift. No more. After a 15-year hiatus during which I entered Architecture studies at Univ Cincinnati DAAP, I began dancing again three years ago and I will NOT stop again. I will dance to my grave and my family have been given strict instructions to have a dancing wake when I leave. Following an October, 2006 auto collision that injured my vestibular (inner ear) balance system, my balance/dizzy physician formally "prescribed" dancing as the "perfect" rehabilitation exercise and said to "get out and dance 4-5 times a week." There you have it dancers; Ballroom dance is great physical therapy! The good news is that there is another little dancer rising through the family ranks. . . my beautiful grandaughter, Sophia. When asked recently, what she liked best during her school day, her reply was, "Mimi, we danced today! and I like that the best!".  Then she let me teach her some east coast swing steps. Mary Cook at A-marika watched her practice some rumba steps during one of my private lessons recently and sent her home with her very own little pink tutu.  So now, folks, you know we gotta keep this USADance Cincinnati Chapter going! The kids will need a place to dance!

Secretary - Linda McCaig I have always enjoyed dancing, took tap and jazz lessons as a child but didn't do much dancing as an adult until I saw an advertisement for group classes in swing. I went, got hooked and have been dancing ever since. I have been taking lessons at the Dance Club with Jeff Bill since 2004. So, I am fairly new at this, but it has quickly become a passion for me. My other passion is bird watching which I don't do as much of now since it's hard to be out there at sunrise

Treasurer - Karen Schulte - Learning a box step in Waltz in my 4th grade gym class, swing dancing with the girls in junior high (since the boys lined the edge of the gym!), and dancing with my father at my wedding were my only exposures to ballroom dancing until 1997. Even with such limited opportunities, I loved to dance, but did not know how or where. Then I saw an ad offering a few introductory lessons at a local studio. With gentle arm-twisting, I dragged a dear friend to those lessons, and both of us were hooked after our first lesson with Mike Brusky.

While I ski (water and snow), play volleyball, sail, travel, and garden, my passion is dancing. Whether my partner is more experienced than I or is a newcomer on the dance floor, it is simple joy for me. Although I enjoy all the dances, the Latin rhythms are my preference. The energy and playfulness of Samba make it my favorite.

Registrar - Barbara Alvarez - I have loved music and dance for as long as I can remember. In 1997 a group of our friends started taking dancing lessons and encouraged us to join. We began taking lessons with Barry and Becky Bernard at Cincinnati Ballroom Company. It was so much fun. Not only did we learn to dance but we socialized with all of our friends weekly at the Friday night party. We met many new people that are now great friends of ours. Dancing is only one of my many interests. I

have a Business Degree but my interests lean more towards the arts. I love to travel and have been to many exotic places. I enjoy decorating and decorative painting, cooking and entertaining, and gardening. I am a native Cincinnatian and I am from a very small family. My husband, Alex, is Pilipino and is from a very large family. When we have a family get together it is like one big party. I have one son, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and a beautiful granddaughter who I adore. As soon as she is old enough I want her to dance.

WebMaster - Scott Peterson - I started dancing in about the 4th grade at a thing called "Party Wagon" taught by the O'Neil's in Mariemont. You know, little boys with their ties and little girls with their white gloves. In my early twenties I started dancing again this time taking lessons from Hagerty Dancing and even danced on the Hagerty Dancing Formation Team. I have rediscovered dancing and am having the time of my life. My profession is a Network Engineer for an international services and support company.

Telephone Coordinator - Barbara Alvarez - I have loved music and dance for as long as I can remember. In 1997 a group of our friends started taking dancing lessons and encouraged us to join. We began taking lessons with Barry and Becky Bernard at Cincinnati Ballroom Company. It was so much fun. Not only did we learn to dance but we socialized with all of our friends weekly at the Friday night party. We met many new people that are now great friends of ours. Dancing is only one of my many interests. I

have a Business Degree but my interests lean more towards the arts. I love to travel and have been to many exotic places. I enjoy decorating and decorative painting, cooking and entertaining, and gardening. I am a native Cincinnatian and I am from a very small family. My husband, Alex, is Pilipino and is from a very large family. When we have a family get together it is like one big party. I have one son, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and a beautiful granddaughter who I adore. As soon as she is old enough I want her to dance.

Scheduling Chair - Vivian Cosio - I was born in Cuba in June 4, 1956. At a very early age, Salsa, Rumba, and Bolero were danced during the early Castro’s Regime in the streets of Cuba at beautiful and exotic carnivals. To dance was a way of life. I don’t ever remember not ever dancing some type of dance. In high school, I learned to square dance. In college, the disco scene won me a stereo set for showing off how limber I could be. Now, In my 40s a new more sophisticated and artistic style evolved within my

scope of dancing. We call it ballroom dancing. It has become an addiction of insurmountable heights. I have been a financial and retirement planning advisor since 1982. I love my work and the opportunity it offers me to learn and grow with my clients, who soon become long-time friends. WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE THIS IS.

Photographer - Tony Hou - Bio To Go Here.

Decorations - Linda McCaig I have always enjoyed dancing, took tap and jazz lessons as a child but didn't do much dancing as an adult until I saw an advertisement for group classes in swing. I went, got hooked and have been dancing ever since. I have been taking lessons at the Dance Club with Jeff Bill since 2004. So, I am fairly new at this, but it has quickly become a passion for me. My other passion is bird watching which I don't do as much of now since it's hard to be out there at sunrise

Youth & College Network - Kim Jones - Bio To Go Here.

Promotions Chair- Marcia Grant - I began ballroom dancing in 2002. I started with a ten dance lesson package "just for fun" and got hooked. Now nearly five years later, I am a competitive dancer and have done several exhibition dances as well. I am a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner, enjoy floral design, singing with the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Choral, playing piano and making stained glass pieces. I was married to Tom in December of '06 and also share my home with "McKenna" my West Highland White Terrior.

Hospitality Chair - Valentine Boehm - Bio To Go Here.

Ticket Chair - Joan Daniel - Bio To Go Here.

National Ballroom Dance Week - Jeff Greatorex - Bio To Go Here.

Advertising - Gordon Huntress - I grew up in the New York city suburbs in Suffern NY. College - Lehigh; Dental School - Columbia ; Prosthodontics - Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I came to Cincinnati in 1974 to join the department of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery where I provide oral and facial prosthetic rehabilitation. I met Linda, a speech pathologist in the same department. We married in 1978 and have two grown children, Mark and Diana. Linda and I started ballroom dancing in 2003. After a short stint with a franchise studio we found Doreen at Step-N-Out where we take lessons regularly. Between full time professional practice(see GordonHuntress.com), dances, lessons and routine chores, there is only occaisional time left over for me to commit golf.

Newsletter - Debbie Luckett - I have been involved in ballroom dancing as a Pro-Am competitor since 1991. I currently compete with my professional instructor, Chris Ford, who is based in Indianapolis, but teaches regularly at Step-N-Out Studio in Covington, KY. I enjoy all aspects of ballroom dancing both socially and competetively, inclucing designing and sewing my own ballroom dresses for competition. I dance primarily American Smooth and Rhythm , and I believe my favorite dances are Waltz and Bolero. My husband, Grant, enjoys social dancing when we are not busy with our careers: me, as a registered nurse and he, as a respiratory therapist. I enjoy writing and hope to use my talents to provide our member's with an interesting and informative newsletter.

Admissions Chairman - Vacant.

Outreach Chairman - Vacant.

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