PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
Although there’s fluctuation in numbers during the year, a
solid core group relentlessly chassés and relevés across the floor.
Some occasionally go out to lunch, even taking trips together.
Hellstrom-Leonard’s franchise sponsors community events
from time to time, For the past 20 years, her class has adopted
a needy family each Christmas. According to Funka, “All
she’s got to do is mention it, and we’re on board.”
Because of the 10 a.m. class time at River Walk Center in
downtown Fort Pierce, the majority of Hellstrom-Leonard’s
students are retirees, but her class is as high impact as students
choose. Students range from their 20s all the way up
the ladder, at all stages of fitness, enjoying the ultimate dance
party each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Her daughter Lauren, now 31, is a frequent participant. In a
way, she’s been there all her life: Hellstrom-Leonard stopped
teaching a mere three weeks before Lauren was born. Six
weeks later, she was back at work.
Jazzercise isn’t limited to women, either. Don Facey has
been attending classes with his wife of 61 years — and with
Hellstrom-Leonard — for almost two decades. “We were
fairly active, but we wanted to do something while we were
in Florida,” he says. The couple enjoyed the classes so much
that back in Massachusetts, Facey made an exercise room in
the basement so they could exercise to videos. “It’s not as
exciting as with Sandi, though.”
In addition to everything else, Hellstrom-Leonard runs
multiple races each year, from 5Ks to marathons. In last
year’s Sunrise Theatre Dick Hellstrom Memorial 5K Run/
Walk, Hellstrom-Leonard finished second in her age group.
And the overall male winner in the same race was Kent Leonard;
he and Sandi had been engaged a whole week.
“We performed together a
million years ago,” Hellstrom-
Leonard says. Widowed for
several years, with nothing
to indicate that would ever
change, Sandi offered Kent a
ticket “on a whim” to come
see her dance at the fifth annual
Dancing with Our PALs,
supporting the Fort Pierce
Police Athletic League. To her
surprise, he sat in the first row.
About five months later, when
Hellstrom-Leonard crossed the
finish line at the Disney Princess
half-marathon on Feb. 22, 2015,
Leonard was waiting at the finish
line, holding out a ring box.
Jazzercise class members hosted
a bridal brunch for Hellstrom-
Leonard in March, one of the happier moments in the life of the
“family.” The couple married on April 5.
At 65 and the only instructor in St. Lucie County, Hellstrom
Leonard has no plans to quit teaching, but she’s also
experienced enough loss to occasionally think about the end
of the road.
“I hope my legacy will be that I made people feel happy,
either from teaching Jazzercise or performing in shows,” she
says. “I love to see someone learn a new step, or tell me they
enjoyed the class, that they felt welcome and special. That hour
or so is for them to enjoy and feel better about themselves.”E
52 Port St. Lucie Magazine
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M A G A Z I N E
KENT LEONARD
Sandi has completed over 35
Disney running events, including
16 full marathons, in addition to
many local charity races.
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