Zumba at The Regent Marks Riverview Woman's Club Debut

The "Party Yourself Into Shape Zumba Fundraiser" made its mark at The Regent in Riverview as the first major event of the newly formed Riverview Woman's Club.

The club draws women from Riverview, primarily, but also from other communities, inlcuding Seffner, Ruskin, Brandon and Bloomingdale, said Daisy Vega, the event chair.

"This is our first event and it's very successful so far," said Vega, as the fundraiser got under way June 9. "I picked Zumba because I'm such a bubbly person."

Damaris de Jesus served as a Zumba instructor, giving her reasons for loving Zumba, a Latin-inspired, calorie-burning, dance-fitness program developed by Alberto "Beto" Perez in Colombia during the 1990s.

"First, the passion," she said. "The passion from the instructor feeds into the passion of the students."

More to love? "The music, feel the music, and love the body," she added. "And you don't have to know how to dance to love Zumba."

The Riverview Woman's Club, incorporated as a nonprofit organization in April, is the brainchild of small business owners Jeanne Burkeson, now the group's charter president, and Donna Lee Fore, the club's vice president. Over the past two months, the club's membership has swelled to 30 paid members.

The club meets monthly for lunch but that might evolve into more meetings as the group grows.

The club's goal is to raise money for community concerns and to serve as a vehicle for networking.

The Zumba fundraiser was for a scholarship fund for students from Riverview High School.

Dues to the club cost $25 a year.

Fore is co-owner of PF Auto Glass in Riverview and is president-elect of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce.

Burkeson and her husband, Joe, run Square-One Inspection Services, a home inspection business in Riverview.

For information on joining the club, or for reservations to the next luncheon, contact Fore at 813-528-0902 or email contact@pfautoglass.com.