Meet 2024 DWTSS Dancers Ben Hughes and Makayla Chambers

Presenting 2024 DWTSS Dancers Ben Hughes and Makayla Chambers! They are competing along with eleven other teams to win the 2024 Mirror Ball Trophy Judges Choice award and the Top Fundraiser award.

Dancing with the Statesboro Stars is a night of dancing and performances to raise funds and awareness for Safe Haven, the nonprofit organization that serves adult and child survivors of domestic violence in Bulloch and five surrounding counties.

The 14th annual Dancing with the Statesboro Stars presented by D&R Car Care will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2024. The encore show will be Sunday, November 24, 2024 at 3pm at the Connection Church

Each day leading up to the event on November 9, 2024 we will introduce you to the 12 teams competing.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW to TEAM Hughes and Chambers

Meet Ben

Ben Hughes was born and raised in Paducah, Kentucky and attended Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi where he completed his undergraduate degree as well as a Masters in Business Administration. After spending time in industrial construction and maintenance, he moved to New Orleans and completed his Masters in Health Administration at Tulane University.

Ben has held several leadership positions in healthcare over the past decade which includes assuming the role of Chief Operating Officer at East Georgia Regional Medical Center when he moved to Statesboro in September of 2023.

Ben has been married to his very understanding and patient wife, Alanna, for twenty years and is a proud father to Ellie (18), Catie (17), and Danny (14). In his free time, and against his better judgement, he plays competitive rugby with the Savannah Shamrocks Rugby Club. He has thoroughly enjoyed becoming part of the Statesboro community and is excited to be part of an event that supports such a great cause like Safe Haven.

Meet Makayla

Makayla Chambers is a Bishop, Georgia native and graduate of Oconee County High School. She is a third year student at Georgia Southern University majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Human Development and Family Science. Makayla is a Tier 2 member of Southern Leaders, a campus organization which promotes community service and leadership development. She is a dance instructor and choreographer at Statesboro School of Dance, intern with the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and seasonal Guest Service Representative at Nothing Bundt Cakes of Athens, Georgia.

Makayla began her dance journey at four-years-old where her passion was sparked by the incomparable Crystal Williams. Upon entering ninth grade, she aspired to become a versatile dancer which landed her in East Athens Educational Dance Center’s Accelerated and Gifted Program lead by Nena Gilreath. While there, she studied a myriad of genres such as African, Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Modern, Liturgical, and Hip Hop. The following year, Makayla opted to hone her ballet and pointe skills by rigorously training with Covington Regional Ballet’s Pre- Professional Ballet Company. She spent three wonderful years in the company with remarkable instructors such as Meg Gourley, Maia Charanis, and Liz Stillerman Anderson. Through the years, Makayla supplemented her dance training by attending summer intensives such as Joffrey South and New York Institute of Dance and Education’s two week Dance Festival on scholarship. Additionally, she has attended classes at Steps on Broadway, The Joffrey Ballet School, and Brenau University. One of her favorite dance memories was taking class from the Radio City Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.

After a much needed break, Makayla has joyfully returned to dance as an instructor and choreographer. She enjoys exploring the intricacies of dance and discovering various approaches to dance education. She is honored to enter her inaugural year as a Dance Pro for Dancing with the Statesboro Stars where she hopes to collaborate with the Statesboro community to bring awareness of readily available resources and raise funds for Safe Haven.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW to TEAM Hughes and Chambers

About Safe Haven

Safe Haven is a program of Citizens Against Violence, Inc., a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation. It is the emergency safe house for adult and child victims of domestic violence serving Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Jenkins, Screven and Washington counties. Save Haven is open 24 hours per day/7 days per week. The length of time at the shelter is based on personal plans and progress towards independence.

There is no charge for services provided at the shelter which include: