We are excited to announce the first Charlotte Hounds Dance Team (Name TBD) as a volunteer team of professional dancers that will perform and take part in game day activities during all Hounds home games at American Legion Memorial Stadium. The Dance Team will also be actively involved in the community, taking part in team appearances at community events, fundraisers, post-game and away-game viewing parties and other activities in the Charlotte area. This is a great way to earn experience, get involved in a growing sport and prepare you for your future in the pro sports dance/cheerleading world!
Dance Team Auditions – Saturday, March 9
Charlotte Athletic Club // 101 S. Tryon Street, #200 (Inside the Omni Hotel)
REGISTRATION: 9:00 AM ET
ATTIRE: Dance Shorts, Bra Top, Appropriate Dance/Aerobic Shoes
WHAT TO BRING: Dance Resume, Headshot, Water, Light
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE EMAIL pennynichols30@gmail.com
Former NY Jets Flight Crew Member Colleen at the Sideline Prep Workshop on Saturday in Maryland.
Auditions for the 2013 Philadelphia Soulmates got under way earlier this month.
Soulmates new choreographer Michelle Sulpizio
Members of the 2012 Philadelphia Soulmates
Kayla is a former member of the NY Jets Flight Crew.
Rachel in a rockin’ audition outfit
Jenna is a Philadelphia Spinners Fly Girl
The Soulmates Final Audition will take place at Parx Casino in Bensalem at 7pm this Tuesday.
by Liz Reiman
WIVB.com
A married couple from Buffalo will be taking part in CBS’ The Amazing Race when the show kicks off for the 22nd time in February.
Thirty-year-old cigar salesman Max Bichler and his wife, 24-year-old pharmacist and former Buffalo Jill, Katie Bichler will be competing with 11 other teams for a chance to win $1 million.The newlyweds say this adventure around the world will be their honeymoon. Max and Katie met at a local charity golf tournament in Canada that Max plays in every year.
“After a few drinks, Katie decides to come up to me, told me I looked familiar, the rest is history,” said Max.
“He thought I was a cart girl or like a waitress at the golf course. I said, ‘No, actually I’m the reigning champion,'” Katie said.
The couple also says, they shouldn’t be judged based on their looks.
“We’re evil, I mean we may look sweet and nice but we’re evil. You’re going to look at us and go, ‘We hate that team.’ We come off as confident, which we are, but they’re not going to like us. And that’s fine,” Katie said.
The biggest challenge the two say they will face on the show is working out any issues with communication they may have. They have only been living together for a month Katie says.
Making decisions is also a battle they will have to overcome.
The season premiere of the show is February 17th on CBS.
Thanks to the Buffalo Pro Cheer Blog to the tip and the photo.
Born and raised in Barzil, Keli is a two-year veteran of the NLL Toronto Rocks (Indoor Lacrosse) Cheerleaders.
And in the summer you can find her cheering for the MLL (Outdoor Lacrosse) Hamilton Nationals
[Keli at the Toronto Rock Website]
After eight-plus years of running this site, I had my first photo-card failure. More than half my photos from the Wings Angels debut were lost.
Will try to make up for it on Sunday afternoon, when the Angels once again take the field.
Pro Bowl Dan is in Hawaii (of course) and he sent us some photos of the Pro Bowl Cheerleaders during their first two days of appearances.
By Ben Crandell
SouthFlorida.com
Eric Haley requires no seeing-eye dog to get around. Which you may find surprising after learning that the guy married to a former Miami Dolphins Cheerleader, pictured right over there, calls her “The Dude.” Really, dude?
But talk to Andrea Ocampo-Haley for a little while and you might agree, she would be a good dude to have a beer with.
First, the Delray Beach resident is a major sports fan who was a Dolphins Cheerleader during the 2001-2003 seasons, so she can give you some scoop on the Wannstedt years, when the ‘Fins would actually keep playing after the regular season. Remember the playoffs?
And, like a lot of guys who have waved good-bye to their playing days, Ocampo-Haley can exchange empathetic banter over the relief that comes with not having to work so hard to squeeze into the old uniform.
“Staying in shape now is a lot easier for me. I’m not having to fit into anything tiny, where my boobs will be spilling out. That ship has sailed!” Ocampo-Haley says, perhaps echoing something you have said to your buddies.
She can also talk hockey, having just started a gig as an in-arena host for the Florida Panthers, a role that sees her moving around the BB&T Center interacting with fans. Her first game was also the night the Panthers hung their division-championship banner. “It was so exciting, to get that rush and adrenaline. The energy in the building was out of control,” she says.
A native of Colombia (the small city of Armenia, near Medellin) who attended Western High in Davie (“Go Wildcats!”) and the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (studying broadcasting), she’s not sure how she came to love hockey, but likes it rough.
“I love the fights. The bodies slamming against the glass. Who doesn’t?!” she says with a laugh.
You like cars? She likes cars. When Ocampo-Haley is not working for the Panthers (you can catch her this week at home games Thursday and Saturday), she is a spokesperson for Florida Fine Cars, dealerships in Hollywood and Miami specializing in pre-owned luxury rides. So she gets to run her hands over the BMWs and Mercedes you drool over.
“I always enjoyed cars, but here [at Florida Fine Cars] I am having to really know cars. Like anything, you learn it,” she says. Ocampo-Haley favors SUVs such as the Lexus IS F and Audi Q7, which is “really refined, a car that speaks to me.”
When she’s not doing all that, Ocampo-Haley pursues an acting career by going on auditions. Our conversation took place while she was driving from Delray Beach to Miami to try out for two commercials. One of them for Home Depot. In case you want to talk to her about belt sanders and reciprocating saw blades.
By Staff Sgt. Veronica Mcmahon
DVIDSHub.net
CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti — “I heard about the crash on the news, and the doorbell rang. I saw the men in uniform coming in and shouted ‘no, no, no!’”
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” –Anonymous
“I heard about the crash on the news, and the doorbell rang. I saw the men in uniform coming in and shouted ‘no, no, no!’”
Aug. 6, 2011, is a date many Americans might not recognize, but it is a day that Kimberly Vaughn and many others will never forget. The death of 30 Americans in a helicopter crash in East Afghanistan during a fire fight became one of the deadliest losses for American Forces in the decade-old war against the Taliban.
“They told me there was a helicopter crash and that [my husband] Aaron was on board, and there were no survivors.”
Vaughn, mother of two young children, Reagan and Chamberlyn, said this day – the day her husband was killed – was a day she will never forget.
Kimberly Vaughn, widow of U.S. Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Aaron Vaughn, hugs their son Reagan in front of her late husband’s grave site at Arlington National Cemetery in September of 2012. Ms. Vaughn recently visited troops at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, while on her first tour since the tragedy, and was able to share her story and bring a bit of home to deployed service members over the holiday season.“Everything is engrained in my memory,” she said. “It was like a movie playing out in real life. You’ve seen it before. You’ve seen it in the movies. You know it happens to other families, but this time it was happening to me.”
Vaughn met U.S. Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Aaron Vaughn in Guam in 2005 while on an Armed Forces Entertainment tour as a Washington Redskins cheerleader. During her time as a cheerleader, she went on 12 tours and saw more than 40 countries. She always loved the military and grew up in a Navy family. She said she really admired that quality in individuals.
“It takes a special type of person to join the military and serve their country,” she said. “To me, it was a wonderful quality and something I admired in him.”
It’s that love for the military that brought Vaughn to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, for her first time back on tour since the incident. Donald Wells, Camp Lemonnier Morale, Welfare and Recreation community activities director, and previous Redskins cheerleader coach, suggested she come back on tour and visit the troops stationed in Djibouti, Africa.
“She loved the military and those who serve,” Wells said. “She had volunteered her time more than any other NFL Cheerleader to go on tour. She went on a dozen tours to say thank you to the troops. I would say she is a hero and is an amazing example of a military spouse who stands behind her loved one and will continue to give back to her country in any way she can. Even after this tragedy, she is still willing to come out and support.”
Wells has known Vaughn since 1998 when she auditioned and became a Washington Redskins Cheerleader. He had been her coach and was there to witness her relationship with Aaron blossom. He also was there to see her through her tragedy.
“I was driving and I heard on the radio that a chopper went down with Navy SEALs on it in Afghanistan,” said Wells. “I instantly thought of two of my cheerleader’s husbands who were there because one of them was a Special Forces helicopter pilot and the other was Aaron.”
Wells said he called Vaughn, and she picked up the phone crying. He said he knew from that moment that her husband had been on that flight. He rushed straight over to meet her.
“As I arrived to Kimberly’s house, I walked in and she – of course – was crying, but she still had strength in her to hold her newborn baby and raise their one-year-old child.”
Wells said Vaughn has always been passionate about the military. Coming back on tour after all that has happened took a lot of strength but has also assisted in the healing process.
“Coming out here helped remind her why she did all those tours,” said Wells. “She was able to go back on her grieving and thank all of these troops for their service to our country. Watching her talk to them and smile and laugh helped a little of the pain go away for a few days.”
During Vaughn’s time here, she visited various units on base with current NFL cheerleaders, meeting with many service members and bringing a bit of home to them for the holidays.
“It’s been very cathartic for me,” she said. “Seeing and meeting tons of military men and women who serve their country reminds me that Aaron was doing what he loved to do. It’s great just being able to bring a bit of home to people over here who have been away from their friends and families, reminding them that all of us back home support what they do and that we appreciate them. Being able to tell them that in person is really rewarding.”
Vaughn’s visit allowed her to share her story with many troops, showing them the appreciation she felt they deserved. She said surrounding herself with service members was a special way she could remember Aaron and be proud of who he was and what he stood for.
“The troops that met her and heard about her story all thank her for her sacrifice,” Wells said. “They were impressed by her strength and ability to still come out and thank them for doing what they do.”
Although her life will never be the same, Vaughn has embraced her husband’s legacy and found the strength to push forward, but will forever remember him as a loving husband, father, patriot and a hero.
“I’m trying really hard to focus on the love he had for his country and his job over how he died,” she said. “I’m trying to focus on how he lived, and being around these men and women has just been wonderful for me. I’m just going to focus on finding a happy life for my children and myself. I know he would want that for us, and I want that for us too. I’m going to focus on getting on and living life to the fullest and earning his sacrifice and the sacrifice of so many.”
