ABC Channel 15 did us proud with excellent coverage of the weigh in and measurement of some of our participants.  Thank you, Kyle Burke for a great article and film at 6:00 PM.  We love that we had the tease at the top of the hour, the tease at the first break, and then our segment.  

Four stylists from Dollyrockers Salon and Boutique (Anthem) – Michelle, Laura, Jessica and Tracy, were joined by Sara Jane from Artistic Hair Designs (Youngtown) to perform a speed cutting exhibition. They completed 75 haircuts in two and a half hours! These ladies definitely ROCK for giving the gift of a great back-to-school haircut to so many kids! And Bonnie Angster, you rock, too! Thank you for pitching in so magnificently.

Each child that needed one received a new backpack full of school supplies. Lakeview United Methodist Church and Scottsdale Insurance Company,  Western Heritage Insurance Company, and Place Associates Resource Group provided the welcomed and (greatly appreciated)  backpacks and school supplies.

Sherry Johnson-Traver, owner of H2O Fitness, rocked the house with an exercise routine to rev the engines of the weight loss challenge participants. She showed us how to use two #10 cans as perfect weights. THE PLAN: Buy two cans of food. Exercise with the two cans, then donate them to the food bank . . . REPEAT! Everybody wins.

Sprouts Farmers Market (thank you, Abby Mullen!) provided apples, bananas and water along with a 10% off coupon and information about nutritious snacks.

Ethel Luzario and Bob and Helen Estep of The 3000 Club were on hand to provide information about their program that rescues produce from the landfill in Nogales. Valley View Community Food Bank is a happy recipient of that nutritious food.

Jodie Wilson, chair and visionary for this whole day and the challenge itself, watched the plan unfold and couldn’t be happier! It’s her website, http://www.discovertheregion.org/flash/, that holds the forms and photos for the weight loss challenge.

Jodie’s husband, Dr. Bret Wilson, is pleased to be the monitor and coach for the weight loss challenge. He is a chiropractor (Bell West Chiropractic) and is donating his time and knowledge about healthy eating and weight loss strategies.

Pete Peters and Deborah Brown (aka The Boomer and The Babe) focused their creativity and energy to help make the day work so well — flyers, tee shirts and all around cheerleading came from their quarter.

Other behind the scenes help came from Kim Fedison (see tab above for Kim’s story), Cammy Gerasia, Helen Estep, Barb Mazurek, Steve Mazurek, and Peggy Marshall.   Peggy, you are to be commended for your excellent leadership and focus in getting the numbers to square — we definitely need 1200 participants to pledge their minimum $25 (aka pounds lost) to make this work. 

Anthony Porumb and Giana Schneider get major kudos for excellent team work and speed in printing tee shirts on demand (what a production!) as supporters found out they can wear our Tilly 2Can food drive shirts for more exposure.  Thanks, TJ and Giana, for printing over 100 shirts today!  And thank you, Eve Georgiou, Discover the Region Magazine, for filling in as needed, staffing the tee shirt table, and helping keep the positive flow going!

Kudos to Karen Langston and Madonna Kash for your interest in starting the East Side Group — it will be Drop 1 Give 1 East and West!!  Thank you for committing to help Valley View Community Food Bank through your own healthy eating and lifestyle adjustments!

And finally, our wonderful food bank director, Jesse Ramirez, is pretty much on Cloud 9!  Thank you for allowing us to be of service.

Healthfully submitted,

Deborah Brown

Do you know anyone who might like to drop . . . oh, let’s say . . . 25 pounds by November 21st?  Hmmm. Let’s say it’s you.  Here’s what you need to know.

This community challenge will be a great vehicle to assist you in your quest.   Activities are being planned to highlight healthy living habits, recipes for good food that’s good for you, and we’re being monitored through the whole experience from now until our celebration on November 21st.