Brooke Van Asten

Brooke will look you in the eye and say, "I'm a super lazy person by nature. I can lay on the couch all day if I don't have a goal in place."

Well, let's just say Brooke's couch doesn't get much Brooke time. Why? Because she's always on the run. Literally.

Give Brooke a distance and she'll cover it without blinking. The ACUITY territory director has covered six marathons, two 50-mile runs, two 50K runs and about eight half marathons. Her most daunting challenge awaits: She'll do the Ironman Triathlon in Madison on Sept. 11. That grueling event includes a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a full marathon (26.2 miles).

"I just needed to try something new and different," she says with a smile.

That love of a challenge led her to compete in the recent ACUITY "Dancing with the Stars" competition. She did a spirited salsa number to a Pitbull song and won her co-workers' vote – beating seven other dancers and punching her ticket into Lakeland's Gala event.

"I am very proud to represent ACUITY," she says. "I realize what a strong presence and reputation we have in this community, and that means a lot to me."

Her dancing background consists of ballet and jazz lessons as a little girl and showcasing her moves at weddings.

"I did go to a nightclub and danced when I was eight months pregnant," she says with a laugh, stressing there was no drinking involved.

A month later, Brooke welcomed her son, Jackson, to the world. Of her 6-year-old son, Brooke says, "He's my biggest little cheerleader, and he loves to dance with me."

Brooke is sponsored by Acuity and has chosen Safe Harbor as her recipient charity. If Brooke is the gala champion, her charity will be the 2017 partnering charity and will receive $10,000.

She will perform a swing routine with her dance partner, Trevor Baxter.