Mary Albin 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 young adult sons, whom they adore. Her passions beside family, friends, and tap dancing are varied and numerous. Besides having worked in the nursing field as an R.N. 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 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 as she is in her 19th year now. Mary loves her tap dancing friends. 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 TC Tapper makes Mary a very happy person. She is not crazy about the short skirts, but she does love the sparkles on the costumes. She also loves lilacs, strawberries, and the color purple. 
Suzie Benedetti began dancing at 4 doing tap, ballet and gymnastics. She has a passion for ballroom dancing. Suzi and husband Bob have performed swing and Latin dance extensively. Suzi returned to tap dancing a year ago when she joined Tri-City Tappers. She attended the University of Missouri, majoring in psychology, and worked as an administrative assistant and school secretary while her daughters attended school. Suzi has 3 daughters, 9 grandchildren, and is 68 years young.
Alumna member.
Marjorie Casper - bio is forthcoming.
Gloria Cullins, 70, and hubby Tom moved to the Tri Cities from Mumbai, India in 2013. They also lived in Australia, Peru, England, and Canada. Raised in WI, she spent 30 years in Houston, TX as well as living in MN, SC, VA, and NYC.
Gloria had a long, successful career owning her own Interior Design firm both in TX and MN. She and Tom still love to travel the country in their RV. She also loves, golf, bowling, card and dice games, photography, sketching, painting and anything artsy. Gloria loves to dance but had never tried Tap. When fate brought her and Kim Stock together one day, they hit it off immediately and she quickly joined the group. She began lessons November 18, 2016 and debuted on July 13, 2017. She loves the group and is thrilled to be a part of it. Alumna member. 
Margaret Dukes and the love of her life, Gene, moved from Houston to Benton City in 2009. They were high school
sweethearts, married on Christmas Eve, 2011. While working full time at STP Nuclear Operating Company and raising four children, Margaret earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management in San Antonio, Texas. Margaret worked as a Senior Engineering Specialist and Cost Engineer. She took early retirement in 2000 and began traveling and working for nine years in New York, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Washington. Margaret’s passion is quilting and she showcases them & sells them. She enjoys bowling, canning, and country and western dancing. She is very involved with the Tri-Cities Newcomers Club & they both volunteer at the American Legion in Benton City. Margaret began tap dancing for the first time in November 2016. Margaret loves the challenge, as well as dancing with the most fantastic group of dancers and instructors! Alumna member.
Stella Kirven and her husband, Coit, moved to from Georgia to Benton City in September, 2015, to be near their grandson. Stella took tap dancing when she was young, and in high school became captain of the majorettes her senior year. As choreographer, her team won first place in county competitions. Stella was an Atlanta All-Star Majorette for the Dixie Rebeletts Dance Team and performed for the Atlanta Falcon football team, in parades, and college ballgames. She was team mom for her children’s sports teams. She also wrote and directed skits for their talent shows. Stella worked for 23 years as a personal assistant at a printing company. She volunteers in the Kindergarten class for Ki-Be Elementary School and is very active in her church where she provides Meals-on-Wheels for shut-ins. Stella joined Tri-City Tappers in October, 2017 and really loves performing with the group.
Alumna member.. 
Kim Leary and her husband and 3 cats, live in Benton City. She is an oncology RN clinical research monitor for Pharmaceutical Research Associates, Inc., has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Masters of Nursing in Oncolo-gy. Kim has been tap dancing since 5, with a gap during the college and early adult years. Her dance training included not only tap, but precision tap, kick line and ballet. She has performed in many team competitions. She loves tap dancing and dancing in general.
She loves performing, being part of a team, playing piano, singing and traveling, and now is a 9-year Tri-City Tapper. 
Linda Mackie - bio is
forthcoming 
Cathy Mann - bio is
forthcoming 
Betty Maryott is one of the original Tri-City Tappers, joining 20 years ago. She took tap and ballet 5 years as a child, continued tap training as an adult with Lois Rathvon and Etta Hacker, and also taught tap for Tri-City Tappers for 2 years. Betty and husband Jim love ballroom dancing and took lessons from Bob and Pat Horn. With a Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Betty worked for Richland School District and was education coordinator for the Sexual Assault Response Center. Betty has 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren.
Judy Murray began dancing at age 5. Her love of tap has kept her dancing all these years. She and her husband, Jim, live in the Tri-Cities in the summer so they can spend time with their son and two granddaughters. They live in Tucson, Arizona in the winter months.
She spent ten plus years singing and dancing with the Tucson Prunes. She also sang with Sweet Adelines for 22 years. She is originally from Columbus, Ohio where she worked as a Human Resource Manager before moving to Arizona. 
Jaimie R. - Jaimie, husband and dog relocated to the Tri-Cities after her retirement as a middle-school teacher in Central Oregon. As a life-long singer OUT of the shower, Jaimie wished she could go back in time to take part in a big-time Hollywood musical. Unfortunately, most of those productions also required the singers to dance, an undeveloped skill set. Lacking a time machine, she settled on tap lessons as a logical "step" in her fantasy. Jaimie joined the Tri-City Tappers in 2017 and with a few fits-and-starts due to a part-time job and Covid-19, she is slowly mastering a few routines. Occasionally, Dolly has to remind her to stop singing, but she rarely stops smiling. Move over Ginger...this is fun!
Charity Ritterman - bio is forthcoming.
Karen Sheeran - bio is forthcoming.
Judy Steitz is a registered nurse with a degree in environmental health and safety. She has worked in many areas of nursing for over 25 years. Judy danced for a short time as a child and has danced with Tri-City Tappers on and off for 7 years. She is married to Bob, the love of her life. Judy has 2 sons, 2 step-daughters and a granddaughter on the way.
Alumna member. 
Sharon Van Houdt is one of the first Tri-City Tappers, joining in 1995 with only a few tap lessons when she was 5. She graduated from Deaconess School of Nursing, Spokane, with an RN degree and in1962 married Dennis Van Houdt. With Dennis in the US Air Force,
Sharon focused on homemaking but also did study oil painting, graduating in 1985 from Columbia Basin College with an Associate of Arts in the visual arts. Sharon is currently teaching Tai Chi at Richland Community Center. She and Dennis also took ballroom dancing for many years. Married 52 years, Sharon has 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Alumna member. 
Susan Xu bio is forthcoming.
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Dolly Ammann is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. Retiring in 1986, she began her second career as a country club manager. Dolly moved here for the general manager position at Meadow Springs Country Club. In 2007, she again retired. Dolly has a Bachelor of science in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. She joined Tri-City Tappers in 2005. Prior dance experience included ballroom and social dancing. The Love of her life is husband Kurt.
Jeanie Amburn and her husband Tom moved from Eagle, Idaho two years ago after living in Idaho for 17 years! It was difficult to leave many friends, but our daughter, Lisa Schutt, lives in Richland with her husband and our granddaughter, Sofia, who just turned 8! We so enjoy living closer to family!
I took tap and ballet dancing as a child! After hearing about the Tri City Tappers, I joined and am enjoying the classes! I am new at performing and have found the performances at Assisted Living homes a joy to see the smiles on residences faces! Tap dancing is a wonderful way to provide exercise of both the brain and body and also meeting new friends!. 
Nancy Jo Brouwer cannot remember a time when she did not dance. Her degree, a Bachelor of Science in Education, is in performing arts. She danced with modern dance companies in Detroit and Washington D.C., and was a dance instructor in Michigan and Maryland for ages 5 to 55.
She also worked as an administrative assistant at a Princeton, N.J., architecture, engineering and planning firm for 10 years before retiring and moving to Richland in 2008. She joined Tri-City Tappers 2 years ago. She and husband Dave just celebrated their 41st anniversary. They have 2 children. 
Liz Curfman retired after a long career as the Senior Manager of the Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant Analytical Laboratory. She is very active with her church ministry, spending 1 day a week doing hospital ministry and several days a month ministering at local assisted living facilities. Liz, who is a semiretired
professional model (TCM Models & Talent, Seattle), joined Tri-City Tappers in 2009 to combine her love of beautiful costumes and dance. She enjoys taking piano lessons, exercising, and spending time with her 2 children. 
Diane De Ste Croix started dance lessons as a self described “pigeon-toed third grader.” In high school, she joined the Olympia Ballet Company. Diane took up middle-eastern dance 30 years later, had fun dancing for 12 years, then joined Tri-City Tappers in 2008 still having fun. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Western Washington University. She has been a licensed massage therapist for 30 years and is employed at Physicians Medical Center, Richland. She has 2 sons. Ryan is an artist and salesman in California; Sean a math teacher and guitarist in Georgia.
Cynthia Ewer is a writer and Web publisher specializing in home organization and management. Author of books such as “Cut the Clutter: A Simple Organization Plan for a Clean and Tidy Home” and founder of award-winning Web site OrganizedHome.com, Cynthia retired recently after 25 wild and wonderful years on the Web as a media influencer. “I’ve had my 14 minutes of fame,” she comments, “and I’m enjoying a quiet, in-person life these days.”
Cynthia first joined the Tri-City Tappers in 2003, and by 2004, was performing with the group in events such as Steve Haberman’s Hollywood, community shows and showcases. “Stopping out” for a few years when her career grew red-hot, Cynthia rejoined the group after retirement in 2022. Cynthia is our Deaf tapper. Working with profound hearing loss, she finds it therapeutic—and fun!—to stretch her abilities dancing with a hearing group. Cynthia also enjoys repairing altering Tapper costumes as dressmaker and costumer. Her watchword: “More bling!" 
Mary Gant has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics Education. Before retiring, she worked for 35 years as a computer programmer and analyst. Mary had no prior dance experience when she joined the Tri-City Tappers in 2000. She is married to the love of her life, husband Rick.
Dorothy Hansen - bio is forthcoming..
Wilma Laity grew up in the mining town of Butte, MT where she met her love and future husband, Walt. They initially lived in the Washington D.C. area and then Corvallis, OR where Wilma worked as a medical technologist. They then moved to Richland, WA in 1974 and for more than 37 years Wilma worked as a microbiologist at Kadlec Medical Center and Tri-Cities Laboratory.
Wilma had never done any tap dancing before joining the Tri-City Tappers and is ecstatic to be a member of the group. The other dancing that she totally enjoys is contra dancing. She has one daughter, Kirsten, and one son, Doug. 
Sally Lehmann studied tap, ballet and jazz from ages 4 to 19 and taught dance for 1 year before becoming pregnant with her first child. After the birth of her oldest son, she joined a traveling dance team for 2 years. She took secretarial courses through Columbia Basin College and worked in administrative positions at Hanford and the Federal Building, Richland. In 1992, she moved out of the area to become a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband John returned in 2007. She has 4 children and 1 grandchild, a beautiful 6 year old. Sally has been dancing with the Tri-City Tappers for 8 months.
Marlaine Mars - bio is
forthcoming 
Irma Meyer is currently employed as a sub-contractor to Mission Support Alliance, Richland, as a program manager. Previously she was with Lockheed Martin, Richland, as a software engineer 13 Years and with Energy Northwest as a systems analyst 9 years. Irma has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is a certified project manager. She joined Tri-City Tappers in February 2013. Her dance training as a child was in tap, ballet and jazz; she was also a high school cheerleader. Irma is married to husband Steve. They have 3 children and 1 grandchild.
Bev Nichols is the oldest Tri-City Tapper and was one of the first to join the troupe 20 years ago. Bev’s love of dance comes from 4 years of tap and interpretive jazz in high school. Bev and husband Del winter in Arizona where she teaches tap to another senior ladies group. Bev attended San Mateo College, Calif. Bev worked for the City of Richland in administrative capacities, and for Energy Northwest as an engineering administrative analyst and plant problem coordinator before retiring. Bev has 3 children, 2 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
Alumna member and competition coach. 
Patty Roloff - bio is forthcoming
Lavonne Ruggles and her husband have been married for 31 years. They have 6 kids, 15 grandkids and 11 great-grandkids. Most of the family members live here. Proudly, one grandson has served in Iraq twice.
Lavonne's lived in Kennewick since 1950. She graduated Kennewick High and Beauty School in 1955-56. Retired from beauty work at age 68. They love fishing and camping in their motor home. They love BIG family gatherings at their home! I love my dance family too. I started in 2001. I have enjoyed every minute of it! At times I feel like it saved my life. Kim is awesome and we all love her to pieces. All the girls are great too! I hope I have the health to dance forever. Alumna member. 
Shannon Sarti - bio is forthcoming.
Genie Sigler was born in Southern California and moved to Tri-Cities in 2003. She and husband Steve share a love of boating and enjoy cruising on the Columbia River. Genie puts her bookkeeping skills to work helping Steve man-age a handyman business. They are semi-retired and have been married for 32 years. Genie has always enjoyed dancing. In high school, she belonged to a modern dance group. She joined Tri-City Tappers in February 2009. Genie has 4 children and 7 grandchildren.
Carleen Strasser landed in Tri-Cities in 2017 when she retired from her parks & rec job in Bellingham, WA. Her husband is from the Tri-Cities and really wanted to retire in the desert. She started tap in Bellingham after she went to her daughter’s 1st recital and decided she wanted to be in a recital too. 15 recitals, 3 pair of tap shoes and one move later, she found the Tri City Tappers! She loves all the ladies, loves all the dancing, and loves all the costumes, because glitter and feathers makes everything better!
Arika Thomas bio is forthcoming.
Gillian Wagtaff - bio is
forthcoming |
