A local YMCA instructor had put her dreams of achieving a high-ranking fitness status on the back burner, until a competition in Illinois last month opened the door for new opportunity.

Lacey Peters was awarded first-runner up in the Fitness Idol Competition at the end of September, during the three-day Midwest MANIA Fitness Conference in Rosemont, Illinois.

Peters has been an instructor at the YMCA since she was 19. She now serves as the director of group fitness for the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph and Niles-Buchanan branches and the member experience director.

As an instructor, Peters teaches Zumba and a Pilates and yoga fusion class called PIYO. She is certified in a number of fitness areas, including Pilates, group workout, yoga, PIYO and strength and conditioning, to name a few.

Since getting started in a fitness career, Peters said she has dreamed of achieving a master presenter status at a fitness conference. With the title comes the opportunity to teach fitness teachers and lead conferences.

For Peters, family priorities took precedent, causing her to put the dream on hold, until this year.

During the Midwest MANIA Conference from Sept. 22 to 24, which is part of the Sarah City Workout organization, thousands of instructors from around the Midwest come together to learn new techniques, earn certifications and compete to win the Fitness Idol Award.

“I was like, ‘I have to do this. I have been teaching for 11 years and I want to take my teaching to the next level,’” Peters said. “This gives me the opportunity to be seen in front of worldwide fitness individuals that have lots of expertise.”

Applicants first submit a resume, bio, picture and video of their routines months before the conference. Peters was chosen to compete among six finalists, selected from hundreds of applicants.

“That was exciting in itself,” Peters said.

In the next phase of the competition, Peters got to perform a three-minute instructional demonstration in front of a panel of three judges. In addition to performing a fun and flawless routine, Peters had to demonstrate her ability to initiate verbal and visual cues in the exercise, while also showing she could connect with those learning the routine.

Peters chose to do a Zumba demonstration and was assisted by two other local YMCA instructors, Tiffany Rusher and Tia Parker. The three instructors demonstrated the Latin style dance aerobic exercise. Having the support of the instructors was a huge boost to her performance, Peters said.

While she did not win the competition, Peters said she got to talk with CEO of SCW, Sarah Kooperman, who helped to remind Peters why she wanted to achieve the goal.

“It gave me hope that one day, I would still be able to pursue my dream,” Peters said. “This just opened the doors, because I never would have done that on my own. Obviously if the president of the company is telling me to apply myself, I need to pursue that.”

Another big benefit was getting to represent the Berrien County community on stage.

“I made sure to mention the YMCA on stage. People of this county have cheered me on,” Peters said. “My students are a huge part of what I do.”

Peters is a lifelong Niles resident who first found her love of fitness as a child. Peters participated in cheerleading, dancing and gymnastics. When she was a teen she was among those chosen to travel the Midwest and teach cheerleading camp through the National Cheerleading Association. Through this experience, Peters said her love for making exercise a fun and energizing learning experience was born.

Looking back, Peters said her passion for her students has motivated her to attend yearly conferences and learn new ways to make exercise fun.

“You go to get all the education you can to better yourself, but it is to better serve your students,” Peters said. “It is like, ‘what more information can I know and retain to better serve my students?’”

For next year’s conference, Peters hopes to apply directly to be a master presenter. If she is not accepted, she said she will consider competing for the Fitness Idol Award again.