That’s how the “Be Beautiful, Be Healthy, Be Empowered” Contest was promoted in the May and June issues of Out & About. With the glamour of the contest’s grand prize came a distinct challenge: Get fit and learn how to dance.

Our winner, Carol Knotts has taken her first steps to meet that challenge after beating out 10 other semi-finalists. And as our judges learned, Knotts responds to adversity with quiet strength.

“What touched our hearts was that she left a career of 31 years with DuPont to volunteer full-time for the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition after losing her mother to breast cancer,” says Arianne Missimer, owner of CORE Fitness and the contest’s creator.

Knotts says her mother had always been an exceptional dancer. Those memories, coupled with the encouragement of her sister, Bev Michel, inspired Knotts to give the contest a try.

Working together over the past three years, Knotts and Michel have raised more than $200,000 for the DBCC. Earlier this year, the sisters received nominations for Jefferson Awards for their charitable work.

But even charity work comes at a price.

“[She] spends most of her day at a computer and has developed a combination of poor posture, decreased functional strength, and a 30-pound weight gain over the years,” Missimer says. “We can empower her to take time for herself by improving her confidence, well-being, and overall health.”

In her first month, Knotts has undergone a fitness assessment, a nutrition consultation and several personal-training sessions at CORE. She also has taken introductory dance lessons from Brian Wells at Starliters Dance Studio.

During the next five months, Knotts will continue to take dance sessions every week, as well as two personal-training sessions a week. Toward the end of the year, she’ll perform live at two dance events.

“I think it’s all wonderful,” Knotts says. “I think this is something that I can do.”