Meet the Tri-City Tappers

Stay tuned ... more info to follow!

Stay tuned ... more info to follow!

Stay tuned ... more info to follow!

Stay tuned ... more info to follow!

Stay tuned ... more info to follow!

Molly grew up in the Tri-Cities and graduated from Pasco High School. She earned her Bachelors degree in Elementary Education at Utah State University. She's happily married to her husband, Travis, of 17 years (and counting). They have four children and have been back in the Tri-Cities for 14 years.

Molly loves being a mother & wife and all the activities that accompany family life. She enjoys baking, scrap-booking, camping, teaching preschool and.....TAPPING!

Throughout her childhood, Molly always thought it would be fun to learn to tap. Two years ago, she decided to try her toes at something new! It's a decision she will never regret! Her motto is, "You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!"

"I absolutely love tap! I have a great time in class as I get to socialize with fantastic friends and exercise my legs. Kim is a sweet, talented tap instructor. I enjoy learning new techniques, steps and dances from her and plan to continue tapping until I'm 102!"

Mary hails from Bluffton, Ohio to the Tri-Cities by way of Texas, Louisiana, California, and Tennessee. Mary lives with the love of her life, Ken, and they have two college age sons, whom they adore.

Her passions beside family, friends, and tap dancing are varied and numerous. Besides having worked in the nursing field for 25 years, engaging in water skiing is a major highlight for Mary. She plans to water ski until the end of time, as well as tap dance into the future.

Mary's catch phrase is Hey Kat! She just loves that dance more than you can imagine. Mary began her tap lessons in September of 2005 when she became an empty nester, and she received a free dance lesson card in the mail. She hasn't looked back.

Mary dearly enjoys her new found friends. She says they are a certain breed of kat, and very fun to be around always. She also says her tap teacher, Kim Stock, is a very patient person who is willing to work with anyone, no matter what their shape, size or ability is.

Being a Tri-City Tapper makes Mary a very happy person. As a little girl, she dreamed of being a prima ballerina only to find herself tap dancing in her prime. She is not crazy about the short skirts, but does love the sparkles on the costumes. She also loves lilacs and the color purple.

Benton City has been my home for 40 years. Before that I lived in Idaho where I was born. I grew up, attended school and met my husband of 48 years in the Boise valley. We also lived in Pocatello for 3 years before moving here.

We are both retired teachers having done the most of our teaching in the Benton City School system. I taught first grade for most of my 27 years of teaching.

My husband and I have 3 children and 9 grandchildren. Our grandchildren all live in Kennewick so we spend a great deal of time with them and watching them participating in sports and other activities.

I love gardening, reading, singing and dancing. We are also avid Cougar fans and attend most of their football games.

I was attracted to tap dancing when I watched one of my college friends dancing with her over 50s group at a reunion. It looked like such fun.

When I returned home, I found an ad for Kim's classes. I talked a friend of mine into starting lessons with me. I was teaching half time so I could only attend classes every other week. After retiring I was able to attend every week. Then I was able to perform with the group.

I have been dancing with the group since 1997. It is a great way to exercise your body and mind. It also keeps us young and makes us feel pretty as we wear our beautiful costumes and surprise our audiences with our performances.

Dolly Ammann is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. Dolly is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Psychology. She has a M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1986, Dolly pursued a career in private country club management. She is a member of the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) and is a Certified Club Manager and member of the CMAA's prestigious Honor Society. She was President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer of the Upper Midwest Chapter CMAA, President of the Inland Empire Chapter CMAA,-Director in the European and Texas Chapters CMAA.

She was a Board member of the CMAA International Wine Society for six years and was the-Host (President) of that organization.

Dolly joined the Tri-City Tappers in March of 2005. Here is what she has to say about being a member of the Tri-City Tappers.

I'm very glad I joined. I first met Kim Stock at a fundraiser for one of our local charities. She was sitting at the same table with me and my best friend Christine Ziegler, another tapper. After a couple glasses of wine, the two of them talked me into joining the group.

Since ballroom dancing has always been one of my passions, I found tap dancing a new fun challenge.

Tap dancing has a number of excellent health benefits. First Tap dancing is a fun aerobic exercise. It is much more fun than going to the gym. It is a weight bearing exercise that is good for your bones. It is also a mental exercise. There are always new steps and routines to learn. Exercising your mind is as important as exercising your body as you age.

Sharon moved to Kennewick in the summer of 2005 to be near her grandchildren.

She previously had taken tap dance lessons, beginning at around age 4 and continuing for about 10 years before academic study and after-school sports filled the available extra curricular time.

In December 2008 she learned about the Tri City Tappers and, with renewed passion, has taken up where she left off so many years ago

Raised in Southern California from the age of 3, she lived there until 2005. She graduated from Goldenwest College with an A.A. and received her R.N. shortly thereafter. Ten years later she graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.A. in History, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

When not dancing she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, traveling and reading.

She and her husband, David, an attorney, are semi-retired. They have a total of 5 children and 8 grandchildren.