Dancing Queens!

Whitsundays Dancing CEOs Crowned 2025 Fundraising Champions & Win Community Awareness Award

Coral Sea Marina’s Kate Purdie, SeaLink Whitsundays’ Julie Telford, Whitsunday Transit’s Candice Crossley and Whitsunday Family Dental’s Alice Harriott are officially ‘Dancing Queens’ after raising nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars for Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) at Brisbane’s City Hall on Saturday night.

Representing the Whitsundays as the region’s inaugural team of ‘Dancing CEOs’, these four women stepped out on stage not just to dance but also to shine a spotlight on the issue of domestic violence, and ultimately to benefit the thousands of women and children impacted by it each year, who turn to WLSQ for help.

Raising a staggering $238,734 of the $877,000 total – and beating Brisbane’s ‘Team Joanne Fricker and Lauren Holland’ to the top of the leaderboard by a mere $1,790 – the Whitsundays team was not only crowned Dancing CEOs’ 2025 Fundraising Champions but also won the Community Awareness Award.

Julie Telford said going into the event, they’d had three goals, all of which were met by that result.

“One was to raise as much money as possible for the vulnerable women and children in our communities and across our state, the majority of whom we will never meet, but whose hardships have touched our hearts,” she said.

“Next was to expose domestic violence for what it really is; to bring the issue out from behind closed doors, where we can challenge it as a community,” she continued.

“And finally, we wanted to have fun with the experience and bring our friends, families, and wonderful, generous, caring community along for the ride.”

Kate Purdie said none of those goals could have been reached without significant support.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Whitsunday community and the local businesses who have supported us,” she said.

Swapping their company roles for new personas as sea sirens for the night, the ladies’ performance was as much about fun as it was philanthropy, showcasing their individual and group dynamic, and capturing the essence of the Whitsundays as Queensland’s premier destination at the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.

The routine was choreographed by Che Pritchard from Brisbane’s Mad Dance House and coached locally by Chez O’Brien from Proserpine’s Chez’s House of Dance.

Alice Harriott said the dance had been modified when the team was just three months into rehearsals, due to a serious knee injury she sustained while skiing.

“I was determined to be on that stage in some capacity or another and am extremely grateful to have fulfilled that wish, but to my mind the challenges I faced in making that happen paled into insignificance by comparison to those faced by the women and children I was there to dance for,” she said.

Candice Crossley, who recruited her team-mates those many months ago, echoed these sentiments.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to dance together for the women and children of Queensland affected by domestic violence.” she said.

The entire team also acknowledged the considerable contribution made by their mentor Katelyn Aslett-Collins, a WLSQ Ambassador and Dancing CEOs alumni, whose dedication to the cause has been unwavering throughout.

For more information and to see event photos and video by the Whitsundays’ ‘Riptide Creative’, follow the ‘Team Whitsundays Dancing CEOs’ Facebook Page.

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