18 Feb From Red Carpet to Dance Floor: A Night of Pure Magic in The Villages!
‘Night to Shine’ was once again a night to remember in The Villages, FL. This is the 2nd year in a row the event was sponsored and held at New Covenant United Methodist Church here in The Villages. It was an incredible evening for all in attendance, whether you were an honored guest or one of the many volunteers that worked so hard to make it an unforgettable experience.
What is Night to Shine?
Night to Shine is a worldwide event that celebrates people with special needs by hosting a prom-like experience. The event takes place annually on the Friday before Valentine’s Day, and is hosted by local churches around the world and supported by the Tim Tebow Foundation. This event is now hosted and celebrated in more than 821 churches around the world, in 62 countries.
It takes a Village
We want to thank Pastor Harold Hendren and his entire ministry and staff at New Covenant United Methodist Church (you can also find their Facebook page here), as well as hundreds of volunteers, donors and sponsors that played a role in organizing, preparing, and ultimately making this a unique celebration.
You can see the full list of sponsors by clicking here.
We know how much effort goes into pulling something like this off, and we want you all to know how much it meant to our ‘kids’ and our community.
I’m sure any of the volunteers in attendance would tell you the experience was priceless just to see the joy and happiness in the faces of all the honored guests. For many of the honored guests, this event is the highlight of their year, and they are already marking their calendars for February 13, 2026.
Thank you again to all of you that served to make this a night to remember!
Academy Awards, Villages style
The evening started in high style and glamour, as each prom guest was met in the back side of the church parking lot by a line of beautiful classic cars, with their owners proudly and eagerly at the ready to drive each guest to the red-carpet entrance, one by one.
These were beautiful vehicles that many of us have seen proudly displayed at local classic car club events. It’s a pretty cool way to be dropped off at the red carpet. We thank the owners of these vehicles for donating their time and sharing their ‘babies’ (those beautiful cars) with our grateful special guests!
Once arriving at the red carpet, each guest was met by their assigned chaperone, where they walked together into the church ballroom as the adoring crowd cheered their entrance.
What I thought was especially heartwarming was to see so many young people; students and cheerleaders from The Villages Charter School volunteering their time to cheer on each honored guest as they entered the ballroom. We thank each of you for your passion and helping make this a night for people of all ages to celebrate and give thanks to God’s glory!
Let’s get this party started!
Honored guests were so much looking forward to this event for a number of reasons. One of those reasons was the highly anticipated opportunity to celebrate once again with Blonde Ambition, a premiere band here in central Florida. They perform around the country as well, led by dynamic band leader and lead vocalist, Krislyn Rojas.
Blonde Ambition has not only grown in popularity as a favorite here in The Villages, but they have become emotionally connected to our special needs community these past few years. This is the band’s 2nd year in a row performing at New Covenant United Methodist Church here in The Villages ‘Night to Shine’. The band has embraced our ‘kids’ in a such a special way and have gotten to know many of them on a personal level.
We want to also give a big shout out to the Page Hill Foundation , whose generous donation helped ensure we were able to enjoy Blonde Ambition once again! Some of you here in The Villages may be aware that Lyndy Devereux heads this amazing foundation. The Page Hill Foundation, Inc, founded in 1997, is a small family foundation focused on improving the lives of America’s less fortunate youth.
The video below shows the beautifully set up ‘ballroom’ in the church, as Blonde Ambition rallies the guests to the stage after enjoying a fabulous dinner.
Special moments onstage throughout the evening
I must have viewed the unedited video below at least a half dozen times, and each time brings a big smile to my face and gets me a little teary-eyed. To me, this onstage celebration shows both the joy of our honored guests as well as the genuine love Krislyn and her team have for our kids.
I hope you agree.
Star of the night for the Koss family
On a very personal level, the star of the night for our son, Kevin, was Reese Ponds, Miss Leesburg. Thanks again to our friend, Melanie Davidson for the last minute pairing of Reese with Kevin. Reese was so sweet with him, and my wife Ruth and I have not seen Kevin so happy and engaging in quite some time.
Reese is an impressive young woman, as her dedication to community service was on full display. Reese took the time to thoughtfully greet and spend time with many of our honored guests.
Reese is the real deal.
Her friend Carolina was equally as awesome with Kevin as she celebrated with them throughout the evening. We thank both these young women and wish them happiness and success in all they do going forward in their young lives!
Happy Birthday Mitch & Kevin!
The evening was double special for both Mitch and Kevin as Blonde Ambition brought them onstage for a little Happy Birthday celebration.
Honored guests showcase their dance moves
There is no shortage of talent and enthusiasm here locally in our special needs community. Check out these electric dancers.
A crowning moment and a balloon drop to cap the evening
Every Night to Shine event is highlighted by a crowning ceremony, where each honored guest receives a crown or tierra. And finally, a balloon drop and last call on the dance floor as each guest went home with enough memories to last a lifetime.
Final thanks
You can also see a short video here from New Covenant that captures some highlights from the evening. We once again want to acknowledge and honor our special guests. We hope it was as special for you as it was to us who had the opportunity to witness all the fun and love in the building.
Thank you again to the Tim Tebow Foundation, New Covenant United Methodist Church, and the many volunteers who made this evening possible!
Let’s grow this photo gallery
Below is a small sampling of photos taken throughout the evening. If you would like to share your photos to be posted here, please attach them to an email to me at mike@kevadvotech.com. I’ll gladly add them. I’d love to build this gallery out so that all can enjoy the memories.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share!
