Each year, sports teams and Mr. Minithon candidates come together with Mini-THON to put on an unforgettable show. The Mini-THON Showcase is a night of usually awful coordinated dances, teachers roasting their students and fundraising for childhood cancer. It is an event driven by student leaders, whose time and effort often goes unseen.

Even though the dancing may not give the impression of hours of practice and careful planning, Mini-THON club members and the dance team worked extremely hard and put in substantial time in the month before the Showcase.

For the dance team, who were in charge of organizing practices, creating music mixes, choreography and teaching the many sports teams, it was no small feat. Senior co-captain Wyatte Lyons spent on average eight to 10 hours a week throughout December and January working toward the showcase.

“Putting the showcase together is definitely a team effort and requires lots of dedication and time. Although it is definitely stressful and time consuming, it’s ultimately so rewarding and fun to be a part of something so unique to our school,” she said.

Her sentiment is echoed throughout the dance team. Even though they gave up many afternoons and weekends in their attempt to teach dances to athletes, watching all the dances they made happen during the actual show was a special and hilarious moment.

Senior Joel Francis, one of the Mini-THON overalls who oversees the many divisions, was proud of the money raised (more than $30,000) and how the Township community came together for such a fun night. The Mini-THON club members, especially the overalls and division heads, were integral to the Showcase running as smoothly as it did.

“We stayed at school every day the week leading up to the showcase. A lot of us [Mini-THON overalls and division heads] were performing in team dances as well so it definitely took a lot of time,” Francis said.

Without the dedication of these students, the time and effort they invested into scheduling, organizing and running the event, the Mini-THON Showcase would not exist. While it is the athletes and individual performances that get the attention, it is the commitment of the dance team and Mini-THON club members that allow the event to be as successful as it is year after year.