My name is JoAnn Blackwood. I am so excited to be part of this amazing group of volunteers! My journey with 3C began over 20 years ago when my daughter, Heather, now 30 auditioned and was chosen for a competitive dance team.

After just 1 year of competitive dance, my husband Ken and I realized that we needed an avenue to provide the funds needed for her to continue her passion.

With that, Ken and I became founding members of our first fundraising group along with 4 other families. Our group changed leadership and names through the years and in 2012 I was asked to serve on the Board of Directors and served as President 2014-2018. Our group grew over the years into a thriving 501c3 recognized charitable organization that sponsored hundreds of dancers, gymnasts, and performing artists including all three of my children; Heather, Kristyn and Daniel.

Through the scholarships of that organization, my daughters Heather and Kristyn have not only received many awards through dance, but they have also been able to receive the training needed to pursue dance into the professional arena.  Heather, now wife and Mom has had the prestigious honor to perform with the Walt Disney Company at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Kristyn, also wife and Mom, now shares her passion and skills in dance at her hometown studio, Center Stage Dance Academy.

In the fall of 2018, good friends Ashley Firth, Victoria Weaver and I, pursued our dream of creating a new 501c3 organization that would not only sponsor dancers, performing artists and gymnasts, but also any child who wanted to pursue other competitive areas like sports, and cheer. We wanted those kids - Champions- to be able to train, compete and realize their dreams without the financial burden that can come with those dreams.

Competitive Champions of the Carolinas aka 3C was born October 1, 2018!!!

My son Daniel was one of those who has received scholarships from 3C and is now following in the footsteps of his sisters into the professional world of dance and dance choreography.

I now have granddaughters Harper and Hensley that began dancing and a grandson Hampton who has entered the world of Travel Baseball, so I know that my journey with 3C will continue in some fashion...

I am so honored to be the current President of 3C and thereby be able to help as many Champions as I possibly can! My passion is helping kids pursue their passion; no child should be denied their dreams because of finances!

My name is Tami Pettigrew. I am a full time assistant principal in Fort Mill and a mother to my 10 year old daughter, Olivia. She is 10 years old and lives to dance. I enjoy being a part of 3C because the volunteering I do with them supports Olivia and her dance aspirations. I enjoy the flexibility that I have in choosing venues that work with my schedule. 3C definitely makes dance more affordable for our family. 

As a Board Director I would like to make sure that everyone that wants to volunteer toward supporting their child’s extra-curricular activities is given that chance.

My Name is Kim Nearpass. I live and work in Fort Mill, SC. I have been married to my husband Brian for 10 years. We have a (soon to be) 18-year-old son Colin and an 8-year-old daughter Evelyn. Colin has been a competitive dancer for 11 years and Evelyn has been racing BMX bikes for 2 years. Having two kids in competitive activities, the fees add up! I love that I have the opportunity to volunteer with 3C so that my kids can continue to enjoy doing the activities they love and pursue their dreams.

As a Board Director, I hope to continue to grow the program as well as provide our volunteers with the best opportunities to help support their champions dreams!

My name is Brigitte Pitts. I live in Lake Wylie with my husband, daughter and son! Brooklyn is my wonderful 9 year old who loves anything artsy and cheerleading. Braylon is 14 who is autistic and loves to read and anything about history! I love being a teacher in Gaston County teaching Pre-k! This allows me to spend more time with my children. Brooklyn started cheering when she was 4 years old. A year later she started competitive cheer! With the cost of her practices, gymnastics, private lessons, competition fees, and uniform the cost completely overwhelmed me! That’s when a friend and dance mom introduced me to 3C! They were welcoming and walked me through the whole process on how to volunteer. I started in the Fall of 2019 with the Carolina Panthers, UNCC, Hornets, and Knights.  Then COVID hit and everything stopped! When the email came in that we can volunteer again I jumped for joy! I love volunteering with this group as they become a small family together.

 This group has allowed me to give my daughter the joy of doing something that she loves without the worry about how I’m going to afford it! Without 3C I don’t know if Brooklyn would be able to do competition cheer!  This group has also given me friendships that go beyond just volunteering!

 I am extremely grateful for 3C and everything that they do! I am excited to join the wonderful group of Board Directors. I plan to help 3C grow and expand. I believe that there are dance and cheer studios that could benefit from becoming part of 3C.  I believe that by being a cheer mom I will be able to bring in a different perspective to the Board as our needs can be slightly different. I look forward to working with everyone.

My name is Mandi Martinez. I was introduced to 3C in the Fall of 2021 by Amy Leggett and was thoroughly impressed and excited to participate in the 3C  organization and events.  I am  currently a veterinary hospital practice manager, but previously was in restaurant management and served as a general manager,  inventory manager, and kitchen manager.  I also worked at Kings Dominion (sister company to Carowinds) as a Food and Beverage area manager and individual stand manager. 

My son, Roland, is my Champion.  He is a 14 year old competitive dancer at Dancers Edge in Winston-Salem.  He has been dancing since age 4.  We live in Virginia, but 7 years ago, he started commuting 2 hours to Dancers Edge every week so that he could have better opportunities in a positive environment.  His goal is to be a professional commercial dancer.  Because of 3C Roland has been able to be in more competitive dances this season AND go to more conventions and events beyond the normal schedule. 

I am so excited to work with new event areas/ opportunities in the Triad area as well as Charlotte.  I look forward to continuing to share my gratitude for 3C and promoting 3C to other local groups.  I am also happy to help with continuing to build relationships with our partners at Spectra at Wake Forest, the Greensboro Coliseum and other area opportunities.

Hello, I am your volunteer team board director,  Marissa McNamara. I love getting to meet all our new volunteers and show them how each of our different venues run. I am also the scheduler for both Spectrum Center and The Knights at Truist Field. 

I am a Nanny and have always been a high energy person with a bubbly personality.  This has helped make running a register my favorite part of volunteering. Talking to people and telling them why we are volunteering has always been easy for me.  Now I get to help others explain why they are volunteering and help our events run smoothly as a board director. 

For me, I enjoy going into these events with the confidence and knowledge that I have; I know what I'm doing and whatever I don't know I will learn and figure it out as I go. 

I love that I have the opportunity to not only help grow our events but to also improve the positions we have with more communication and more teachable moments.

My champion is Makayla McNamara. She is a 13 year old all star cheerleader who made the junior 3 cheer team at Legends Cheer Elite this year. She works hard, shows dedication and absolutely loves what she does. I love watching her tumble across the mat and she knows how to put on a performance with her facials. We will end our 4th season at Legends at the Allstar Worlds Championship  in Orlando.

We welcomed our son, Gregory, in August of last year. In preparation for our new baby and the new season at Legends my husband Codie and I volunteered at as many events together as we could last year. We were able to completely pay for the season with our 3C funds. 3C makes it easy to tell my girl to go do what she loves!