Steve Belcher

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Age: 51
Cooling Tower Operations Project Manager

I am married and have 2 sons, ages 23 and 26. My daughter-in-law is expecting our first grandchild in May. My wife, Willie, and I are very excited.

It’s quite obvious that I need to loose a lot of weight (just look at my picture). I have other health related issues that need some attention as well. I had a heart attack and a quadruple bypass 2 years ago. And now they tell me that I am going to have to a knee replacement. The Corporate Challenge will be a great way for me to start improving on these things. I, along with my teammates, look forward to the challenge ahead.

Personal Goals:

- Complete 95% of the workout opportunities.
- Lose 12% of my weight by December 6th.
- Improve my core strength and stamina.

Ed Adams

Age 59
Health, Safety, and Environmental Coordinator

I am married and have one Daughter and four Grandchildren. I quit smoking two years ago and thought that I was doing everything right until I had a Heart Attack last year, and that let me know I wasn’t doing everything right. My Doctor told me that diet and exercise was very important for a full recovery, so I started a program of both. I feel the competition from the Corporate Challenge will help me work even harder and live a healthier life and a longer life.

Jarion "Jaffy" Brumfield

Hello! My name is Jarion Brumfield. Most of you know me as Jaffy. I am married with four kids. Three daughters, ages 12, 10 and 7. And one son age 5. I use to go to the gym up until about a year ago. My main reason for joining this challenge is to lower my blood pressure, get a good cardio workout and tone up and scare away my daughters boyfriends in a few years. Be afraid, be very afraid!!!

Mike Clark

Age: Soon to be 54
Project Manager
Single for now

I believe that life is grand and it is also what you make of it! My 2 boys are grown and gone on their own. Now so I find myself with 4 dogs to keep me running. For a while, I did not care much about taking care of myself letting things like marriage problems, stress from work, financial woes and other issues get me down. I gave no thought to my health and would look forward to eating and flop in front of the TV to escape from my worries. After surgery a couple of years ago, it showed that I had let myself go and it was taking a very heavy toll on my health. I had symptoms of high blood pressure, diabetes, hi-cholesterol, and sleep apnea. Most all of this was secondary to the extra weight and lack of exercise which left me not sleeping well, tired and generally feeling bad. I weighed a few biscuits over 300lbs., ached from over-stressed joints, and generally did not care much about life. After all, I was fat, bald, over 50 and did not have the happy home life that I felt I deserved and had worked for. I got fed up with where I was headed and began turning it around. I’ve been going to a health club regularly and now eat smarter. Today, I see and feel the difference. I lost 50+ pounds, resolved the marriage problems, and I FEEL GOOD!! I have a long way to go but I feel like living again and love it!!

I am thankful to work at Strongwell and for the company’s interest in improving our health. Wellness won’t happen unless you work at it. This is a great chance to commit to better health but it takes work and is not easy to do by yourself. The spirit of competition and with friends giving you encouragement will make this a great opportunity to improve your health and weight issues. Do it now!! I am living proof it definitely gets tougher with age, but IT CAN BE DONE!!

My goals are:

• Help Salad Dodgers become the Challenge Champs
• Increase my energy level and endurance through exercise
• Continue my weight loss and firming the body with muscle
• Complete 5 or more workouts per week

Melissa Harrison

Age: 42
Engineering/Materials Project Manager

I am married and have a 17 year old daughter. I joined the YWCA about 6 years ago and lost 15 pounds. Over the past year though, I have gotten lazy and some of the weight has crept back on. I had gotten bored with my standard routine and have gotten out of the habit of exercising on a regular basis. I am using the Challenge as a jump start to get back on track and revamp my workouts. I am excited about the variety of classes that the Y offers as I need a change from the standard treadmill and nautilus workouts.

Personal Goals:
- Lose 7% of my current body weight
- Be able to run a 10 minute mile
- Improve my core strength

Clint Smith

My Goals:

1-to jog a mile. I have not jogged since I became an insulin dependent diabetic.
2-to lose 10-lbs

Randy Wheeler

I have been married to my wife Brenda for 23 years. Our daughter Amanda will be 19 in November and our son Brandon just turned 16. Brenda had joined weight watchers some time ago and has to date lost 50 lbs. She finally convinced me to join 17 weeks ago and to date I have lost 40 lbs. My goal is to get to 220 lbs. or less. I have been a member of the YMCA for a few years and it is a great facility. Cancer, heart disease and diabetes run on both sides of my family and I want to learn how to eat and live a healthy lifestyle. I am hoping that my teammates and the entire Strongwell team will come away from this knowing that anything is possible if you set realistic goals and have determination. I was able this past week to walk along the beach and down town Myrtle Beach with my wife and not have to stop and rest – it was a great feeling!

Goals: to drop 15% of my body weight and complete at least 90% of the workouts. Improve my cardio and general health.

Dan Witcher

Hey guys and gals, look forward in continuing this Corp. Challenge. We have been blessed and have a good opportunity to encourage each other in working-out and stricter dieting. I have had a good work-out routine but have not missed “too many four-course meals”.
I liked to shave off 20-25 Lbs and continue further into the new year.

Best wishes to all in this program!!! - Romans 8:28-39

Amber Yarbro

What I want from the next 10 weeks is a start to a healthier way of living. I have 3 small girls and a husband who needs me to be there. I need to stop being LAZY and just do it. I am a very motivated person when I want to be, but it is the wanting part that always seems to get me! I am in a place in my life that I am completely satisfied with everything except my weight…and I can change that. I have been talking about joining the YMCA for like a year now and there was always some excuse; no excuses now because it is free! I know that the weight that I have put on is not just going to go away in 10 weeks but it is a start. My personal goals are just to lose weight and get to a place where I can be in the routine of exercising like I need to.

Ernie Hicks

I joined the corporate challenge to give my fiance moral support and to work out, tone up, and to lower my blood pressure. Also, I want to exercise and take better care of my body.