Teresa VanHorn

Two years ago, when the Movers & Shakers Gala featured a talent show format, Teresa was part of the Van Horn Automotive Group's "Glow Dance" routine.

"It was fun, but I was kind of in the background, more of a cheerleader," she says.

Well, that was then, this is now. Teresa will be center stage as a featured dancer, and she's excited about the opportunity.

"Our President, Dick Strong, brought up the idea of me dancing, and I talked to other people who have done it, and they said it's a lot of fun," Teresa says. "And it's for a good cause, so I thought I would give it a whirl."

She likes rock 'n' roll, but Teresa fondly recalls her parents listening to Big Band Era music from powerhouses like Glenn Miller, so she's envisioning doing a Swing routine to something from that genre.

"I'm sure I'll be a little nervous right before I go on, but as long as I don't overthink it, I'll be OK," she says. Thinking back to her Glow Dance performance two years back, she adds, "It all goes by so quickly. It seems like as soon as you start, you're done. I'm going to have fun with it, and I should be capable, so to speak. I've always thought Swing dancing is really fun, and I'm excited to learn how to do it the right way."

Teresa, who grew up in Plymouth and graduated from St. Norbert College before joining Van Horn Automotive Group in the late 1980s. She's worked in just about every role there, from finance/insurance manager to sales manager to general manager and now, chief operating officer.

"It's a really fun business to be a part of, and it changes all the time," says the mother of four boys, ages 10 to 25. "You have a lot of fun with the employees you work with and of course, the customers. It's an industry that no longer has the stigma that was once attached to it."

Teresa feels strongly about the charity she's dancing for, Samaritans Hand, a Sheboygan drug and alcohol outpatient clinic.

"Drug addiction is such a large problem, one that's overtaking a lot of our youth," she says. "It's so hard to recover from. It seems to take hold of people's lives and ruin so many of them."

Teresa is also passionate about helping Lakeland University, a place she says is extremely important to the county.

"I've noticed how things continue to improve there, academically, physically on campus, really in every way," she says. "To have such a great university in your back yard is really nice, and important."

Teresa is sponsored by Van Horn Automotive Group and has chosen Samaritans Hand as her recipient charity. If Teresa is the Gala champion, Samaritans Hand will receive $10,000.

Teresa will perform a swing routine with her dance partner, Jay Morth.