They hung up their dancing shoes and put on dress shoes for last night's Kick-Off Dinner for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (Thon).

Students, families and sponsors gathered at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel to hear speakers and get into the spirit of Thon, which is in less than one month.

Mike Morse, a keynote speaker, related his family's experience with cancer and his direct link to the Four Diamonds Fund.

"I'm humbled to be here tonight," Morse said. "I want to beat this [disease] in the worst way."

Sharing the experiences of his own bout with cancer and the struggles of others in his family who had it, he said positive things can come from the disease as well.

Morse said cancer brings three things to him: hope, because of what can be done about it; humility, from watching his friend's son pass away from the disease at a young age; and hatred, because it relates to many of the things cancer has done.

Many students heavily involved in Thon, including organization chairs and dancers, attend the annual banquet, which heightens their excitement after months of fund-raising efforts.

"I danced last year and I think that the dinner motivated me more," said Cara Rosenthal (junior-marketing). "It made me much more excited for the date to come up."

Seeing the families involved and hearing them speak is another part of the night that makes the event more exciting she said.

"Our Thon family won the courage award 2 years ago," Cortney Cutler (senior-marketing) said. "It's nice to see new families winning the award."

The dinner officially marked the three-week countdown until Thon.

Maria Dalton of Pottsville and her family came because Thon is a part of their lives.

Her 9-year-old daughter Chelsea, is a Four Diamonds Child and was adopted by Pi Beta Phi sorority. Chelsea has been in remission for a little over two years.

"[Thon] is like a big family reunion and we look forward to it every year," Dalton said. "This is the highlight of her year."

Chelsea spoke at the dinner about her experiences over the past 5 years with Thon.

"I love just coming to Penn State," she said. "I like to play and do things with the dancers."

She said that her dreams are to help kids become dancers and to someday attend Penn State.

"I tell the dancers to keep dancing and don't give up," said Chelsea. "Thon is my favorite part of the year."

Dalton said the sorority members also spend time with Chelsea throughout the year, attending birthday parties and other events, such as soccer games.

"We're lucky enough to have the Pi Beta Phi sisters in our family," Dalton said. "They have made such a big difference in our lives.

The dinner was also a time for celebration for the students involved in the planning for Thon.

"Tonight is a good chance for all of us to celebrate all of our hard work," said Sara Ridge, public relations chair for Thon. "It is also a night for the dancers."

Thon will be held from Feb. 21 to 23 in Rec Hall.