WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 2012 VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS 13 LIFESTYLE I looked at the weather predictions and saw that, with the exception of a brief snow shower expected next week, there is no snow in the forecast here until mid- January. I grew up in Chicago and I don’t think I remember a December, let alone a January, without snow and freezing temperatures. But this year, we have had three tiny snowfalls here in southwestern Wiscon- sin. People are out raking leaves they never got to, walk- ing around in light jackets and even T-shirts as the tem- peratures soar into the lower 50s. The kids who got scooters for Christmas are thrilled as they test them out in front of our house. Those who ski, snowshoe, ice skate and ice fish must be quite frustrated. More than their frustration is the frustration and fear of those who own the ski resorts and sell equipment for winter sports. And what is the fallout of a snowless winter in terms of a drought this coming spring and summer? What about crops? Now don’t get me wrong. I hate shoveling snow. I dread driving on icy roads. So this snowless winter (to date) suits me just fine — or does it? It seems to be playing with my brain. My entire psyche does not know Where’s the snow? The Warm The Children (WTC) program exceeded its 2011 fundraising goal and served a record 560 children with clothing for the winter season. Sponsored by the Vilas County News-Review and The Three Lakes News, the Warm The Children program saw a surge in end-of-year donations, bringing the 2011 total to $62,368. Program organizers said a spaghetti dinner fundraiser sponsored by Friendship House Family Restaurant in Eagle River, a large donation from Pamida Foundation and many last-minute donations — large and small — brought in an additional $8,580. “We are especially grateful to Dash and the Friendship House staff for hosting this din- ner,” said News-Review Pub- lisher Kurt Krueger. “It raised almost $920; we are grateful to folks who came out on a cold winter evening to participate.” WTC coordinator Sharina Adams was excited about top- ping the $62,000 mark and helping so many area parents and children receive warm win- ter clothing. The 2011 fundrais- ing goal was $55,000. “A record number of children WTC exceeds goal; clothing program serves 560 children Ministry Eagle River Memo- rial Hospital will host a blood drive Friday, Jan. 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Medical Arts building, located at 150 Hospi- tal Road in Eagle River. Hospital staff, volunteers, visitors, neighbors and commu- nity members are welcome to participate. “All of the blood used at Min- istry Eagle River Memorial Hospital comes from the Com- munity Blood Center,” said Jan Hadsell of the blood center. “Donating at a hospital blood drive really reinforces why blood donation is impor- tant — so that hospital patients can receive the blood transfusions they need. I encourage you to make your donation appointment today,” said Hadsell. Blood donors must be at least 17 years old, or 16 with parental permission, weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and have photo identification. Donors should eat a regular meal and drink fluids prior to donating. Walk-in donors are welcome, but scheduling an appointment keeps the total time required for a donation to less than an hour, according to blood drive coordinators. Donation appointments may be made by calling Christine at (715) 479-0230 or the blood cen- ter at 1-(800) 280-4102 or visit save3lives.org. Hospital sets blood drive Jan. 13 To mark the first anniver- sary of the opening of Freder- ick Place, Northwoods Alliance for Temporary Housing Inc. (NATH) will host a benefit din- ner Saturday, Feb. 4, at Holi- day Acres Resort, located at 4060 S. Shore Drive in Rhinelander. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour and a buffet dinner will be served starting at 6:30 p.m. The bene- fit dinner will help raise funds to operate the homeless shelter and will include live music, door prizes and raffles. Frederick Place offers emer- gency shelter for families and individuals from Vilas, Oneida, Forest, Langlade and Lincoln Counties. The annual operating costs for the shelter are $205,000. These costs include 24-hour staff salaries, case manage- ment, food, utilities, supplies, insurance, equipment and maintenance. Since opening Jan. 31, 2011, Frederick Place has provided 3,600 nights of emergency shelter for 102 men, women and children. The 16 beds at Frederick Place are currently full, but openings occur regu- larly as residents find employ- ment and affordable housing. Ticket prices are $40 each or $75 for a couple. Space is lim- ited, so it is recommended to purchase tickets early. Tickets are available at Trig’s, Forth Floral, Coffee Beans Café and Frederick Place. Trig’s in Eagle River also will have tickets. For more information, con- tact Tammy Modic, executive director, at (715) 369-9777. Benefit dinner to mark first anniversary of shelter The Vilas County News- Review, in partnership with the YMCA of the Northwoods in Eagle River, is ready to launch its sixth fitness chal- lenge. The 12-week program, mod- eled after the TV show “The Biggest Loser,” is focused on helping contestants develop a healthy lifestyle with better nutrition and exercise habits. A panel from the News- Review and the YMCA looked over the applications and selected six contestants for the 2012 challenge. They are: John Schuh, Tabitha Avery, Rochelle Frank, Bobbie Hall, Margaret Rainer and Michele Jacobson. John Schuh of Phelps said he would like to be able to fit into the clothes in his closet Six contestants chosen News-Review, YMCA begin sixth fitness challenge ST. GERMAIN — Hun- dreds of spectators gathered to watch 101 plungers take their turns and dive into the icy water of Big St. Germain Lake this past Saturday. The 12th annual Polar Bear Plunge raised an event-record $34,140 this year to benefit the Angel On My Shoulder cancer support program, thanks to the plungers, the WRJO Pledge- A-Thon, raffles and sales. Over the past 12 years, 1,276 plungers have con- tributed to raising more than $279,000 for Angel On My Shoulder. Spectators and plungers arrived early for this year’s event, which took place on 10 inches of ice on the north shore of Big St. Germain Lake in front of Fibber’s Bar & Restaurant. The air tem- perature was 26 degrees, although it felt much colder on the lake. First-time spectators were astounded by the sheer number of cars, trucks and snowmobiles lining Big St. Germain Drive for the event. “Our goal this year was to get over the $33,000 mark that was raised the previous year, and the crowd went crazy when we announced the totals,” said Mike Wolf of WRJO 94.5-FM. “In this economy, it’s so heartwarm- ing to see that the people of this area are still willing to wholeheartedly support such a worthwhile cause.” The WRJO radio team of Wolf and Amy Linnet raised $10,617 in pledges during the 30-hour radio Pledge-A- Thon held prior to the plunge. Emmy Fink with “Discov- er Wisconsin” raised the largest amount of pledges this year by an individual with $5,165, followed by vet- eran plunger Russ “Moses” Huizinga, who raised $3,030. The Schoeneck family team raised $2,425 and played a major role in orga- nizing and contributing to this year’s event. The plungers were required to collect a mini- mum of $35 in pledges and sign a waiver in order to participate. Each received a T-shirt and a commemora- tive wrist bracelet. Standby ambulances were provided by the Plum Lake ambulance crew, while the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department kept traffic in check. A pair of participants felt the chill of January water in Wis- consin as they made contact with Big St. Germain Lake. Plungers trembled as they emerged frrom the lake after tak- ing a dive for Angel On My Shoulder. ___________ BY ANTHONY DREW NEWS-REVIEW ASST. EDITOR ___________ ___________ BY MARIANNE ASHTON LIFESTYLE EDITOR ___________ Contestants in the 2012 fitness challenge are, from left, John Schuh, Tabitha Avery, Rochelle Frank, Bobbie Hall, Margaret Rainer and Michele Jacob- son. --Staff Photo By MADELINE MATHISEN Reflections By Mary Friedel-Hunt Polar Bear Plunge nets $34,140 Participants decked out in a myriad of attire jumped into the frigid water of Big St. Ger- main Lake Saturday at the Polar Bear Plunge. --Staff Photos By ANTHONY DREW To WTC, Pg. 15 To FITNESS, Pg. 15 To FRIEDEL-HUNT, Pg. 15
Transcript
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 2012 VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS 13
LIFESTYLE
I looked at the weather predictions and saw that,with the exception of a brief snow shower expected nextweek, there is no snow in the forecast here until mid-January. I grew up in Chicago and I don’t think Iremember a December, let alone a January, withoutsnow and freezing temperatures. But this year, we havehad three tiny snowfalls here in southwestern Wiscon-sin. People are out raking leaves they never got to, walk-ing around in light jackets and even T-shirts as the tem-peratures soar into the lower 50s. The kids who gotscooters for Christmas are thrilled as they test them outin front of our house.
Those who ski, snowshoe, ice skate and ice fish mustbe quite frustrated. More than their frustration is thefrustration and fear of those who own the ski resortsand sell equipment for winter sports. And what is thefallout of a snowless winter in terms of a drought thiscoming spring and summer? What about crops?
Now don’t get me wrong. I hate shoveling snow. Idread driving on icy roads. So this snowless winter (todate) suits me just fine — or does it? It seems to beplaying with my brain. My entire psyche does not know
Where’s the snow?
The Warm The Children(WTC) program exceeded its2011 fundraising goal andserved a record 560 childrenwith clothing for the winterseason.
Sponsored by the VilasCounty News-Review and TheThree Lakes News, the WarmThe Children program saw asurge in end-of-year donations,bringing the 2011 total to$62,368.
Program organizers said aspaghetti dinner fundraisersponsored by Friendship HouseFamily Restaurant in EagleRiver, a large donation fromPamida Foundation and manylast-minute donations — large
and small — brought in anadditional $8,580.
“We are especially gratefulto Dash and the FriendshipHouse staff for hosting this din-ner,” said News-Review Pub-lisher Kurt Krueger. “It raisedalmost $920; we are grateful tofolks who came out on a coldwinter evening to participate.”
WTC coordinator SharinaAdams was excited about top-ping the $62,000 mark andhelping so many area parentsand children receive warm win-ter clothing. The 2011 fundrais-ing goal was $55,000.
“A record number of children
WTC exceeds goal;clothing programserves 560 children
Ministry Eagle River Memo-rial Hospital will host a blooddrive Friday, Jan. 13, from 1 to4 p.m. at the Medical Artsbuilding, located at 150 Hospi-tal Road in Eagle River.
Hospital staff, volunteers,visitors, neighbors and commu-nity members are welcome toparticipate.
“All of the blood used at Min-istry Eagle River MemorialHospital comes from the Com-munity Blood Center,” said JanHadsell of the blood center.
“Donating at a hospitalblood drive really reinforceswhy blood donation is impor-tant — so that hospitalpatients can receive the bloodtransfusions they need. Iencourage you to make your
donation appointment today,”said Hadsell.
Blood donors must be atleast 17 years old, or 16 withparental permission, weigh atleast 110 pounds, be in generalgood health and have photoidentification.
Donors should eat a regularmeal and drink fluids prior todonating.
Walk-in donors are welcome,but scheduling an appointmentkeeps the total time requiredfor a donation to less than anhour, according to blood drivecoordinators.
Donation appointments maybe made by calling Christine at(715) 479-0230 or the blood cen-ter at 1-(800) 280-4102 or visitsave3lives.org.
Hospital sets blood drive Jan. 13
To mark the first anniver-sary of the opening of Freder-ick Place, Northwoods Alliancefor Temporary Housing Inc.(NATH) will host a benefit din-ner Saturday, Feb. 4, at Holi-day Acres Resort, located at4060 S. Shore Drive inRhinelander.
The event will begin at 5:30p.m. with a social hour and abuffet dinner will be servedstarting at 6:30 p.m. The bene-fit dinner will help raise fundsto operate the homeless shelterand will include live music,door prizes and raffles.
Frederick Place offers emer-gency shelter for families andindividuals from Vilas, Oneida,Forest, Langlade and LincolnCounties.
The annual operating costsfor the shelter are $205,000.These costs include 24-hour
staff salaries, case manage-ment, food, utilities, supplies,insurance, equipment andmaintenance.
Since opening Jan. 31, 2011,Frederick Place has provided3,600 nights of emergencyshelter for 102 men, womenand children. The 16 beds atFrederick Place are currentlyfull, but openings occur regu-larly as residents find employ-ment and affordable housing.
Ticket prices are $40 each or$75 for a couple. Space is lim-ited, so it is recommended topurchase tickets early.
Tickets are available atTrig’s, Forth Floral, CoffeeBeans Café and FrederickPlace. Trig’s in Eagle Riveralso will have tickets.
For more information, con-tact Tammy Modic, executivedirector, at (715) 369-9777.
Benefit dinner to mark first anniversary of shelter
The Vilas County News-Review, in partnership withthe YMCA of the Northwoodsin Eagle River, is ready tolaunch its sixth fitness chal-lenge.
The 12-week program, mod-eled after the TV show “TheBiggest Loser,” is focused onhelping contestants develop ahealthy lifestyle with betternutrition and exercise habits.
A panel from the News-Review and the YMCA lookedover the applications andselected six contestants forthe 2012 challenge.
They are: John Schuh,Tabitha Avery, RochelleFrank, Bobbie Hall, MargaretRainer and Michele Jacobson.
John Schuh of Phelps saidhe would like to be able to fit into the clothes in his closet
Six contestants chosenNews-Review, YMCA begin sixth fitness challenge
ST. GERMAIN — Hun-dreds of spectators gatheredto watch 101 plungers taketheir turns and dive into theicy water of Big St. GermainLake this past Saturday.
The 12th annual PolarBear Plunge raised anevent-record $34,140 thisyear to benefit the Angel OnMy Shoulder cancer supportprogram, thanks to theplungers, the WRJO Pledge-A-Thon, raffles and sales.
Over the past 12 years,1,276 plungers have con-tributed to raising morethan $279,000 for Angel OnMy Shoulder.
Spectators and plungersarrived early for this year’sevent, which took place on10 inches of ice on the northshore of Big St. GermainLake in front of Fibber’s Bar& Restaurant. The air tem-perature was 26 degrees,although it felt much colderon the lake.
First-time spectatorswere astounded by the sheernumber of cars, trucks andsnowmobiles lining Big St.Germain Drive for theevent.
“Our goal this year was toget over the $33,000 markthat was raised the previousyear, and the crowd wentcrazy when we announcedthe totals,” said Mike Wolf ofWRJO 94.5-FM. “In thiseconomy, it’s so heartwarm-ing to see that the people ofthis area are still willing towholeheartedly supportsuch a worthwhile cause.”
The WRJO radio team ofWolf and Amy Linnet raised$10,617 in pledges during
the 30-hour radio Pledge-A-Thon held prior to theplunge.
Emmy Fink with “Discov-er Wisconsin” raised thelargest amount of pledgesthis year by an individualwith $5,165, followed by vet-eran plunger Russ “Moses”Huizinga, who raised$3,030.
The Schoeneck familyteam raised $2,425 andplayed a major role in orga-nizing and contributing tothis year’s event.
The plungers wererequired to collect a mini-mum of $35 in pledges and
sign a waiver in order toparticipate. Each received aT-shirt and a commemora-tive wrist bracelet.
Standby ambulances
were provided by the PlumLake ambulance crew, whilethe Vilas County Sheriff ’sDepartment kept traffic incheck.
A pair of participants felt the chill of January water in Wis-consin as they made contact with Big St. Germain Lake.
Plungers trembled as they emerged frrom the lake after tak-ing a dive for Angel On My Shoulder.
___________BY ANTHONY DREWNEWS-REVIEW ASST. EDITOR
___________
___________BY MARIANNE ASHTON
LIFESTYLE EDITOR___________
Contestants in the 2012 fitness challenge are, fromleft, John Schuh, Tabitha Avery, Rochelle Frank,
Bobbie Hall, Margaret Rainer and Michele Jacob-son. --Staff Photo By MADELINE MATHISEN
ReflectionsBy Mary Friedel-Hunt
Polar Bear Plunge nets $34,140
Participants decked out in a myriad of attirejumped into the frigid water of Big St. Ger-
main Lake Saturday at the Polar Bear Plunge.--Staff Photos By ANTHONY DREW
To WTC, Pg. 15
To FITNESS, Pg. 15
To FRIEDEL-HUNT, Pg. 15
VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS WEDNESDAY, JAN. 11, 2012 15
FitnessFROM PAGE 13
Friedel-Hunt: FROM PAGE 13
WTC: volunteer shoppers vital
A group of Eagle River/Northland Pines High School(NPHS) alumni have set a goalto bring high school friendstogether in person.
Planning and organizationis now in progress for a multi-class reunion. The dates underconsideration are Friday, Aug.10, and Saturday, Aug. 11.
“The best kind of social net-working is still done face-to-face,” said reunion volunteerPete Rondello Sr.
Facebook has brought manyhigh school friends back togeth-er, including Jim Mulleady Jr.,Susan Wilsie Govier and KarlaSiemering Bryant, all from theNPHS Class of 1978. The triohopes to create a real-life
homecoming event that willbring old friends together.
A Facebook page titled “YouKnow You’re From Eagle River,WI If . . .” was started in 2011by 1983 NPHS graduate RoyCharles Nance, and has morethan 560 members.
The organizing alumni havea Facebook Event page for theirmulticlass reunion, which cur-rently shows 111 personsscheduled to attend.
Former NPHS students andtheir significant others as wellas NPHS faculty and staff, for-mer and present, will be wel-come at the event.
For more information or tovolunteer, e-mail the committeeat nphsreunion @gmail.com.
Pines alumni cast visionfor multiclass reunion
Comedy in the form of aMark Twain play, “The Diariesof Adam and Eve,” will takeover the sanctuary spaceWednesday, Jan. 18, at FirstCongregational United Churchof Christ (UCC) in Eagle River.
The comic play will be pre-sented following a church sup-per. Those who wish just to seethe play should expect a 6 p.m.curtain.
Vickie Brown and BernieHupperts will play Eve andAdam respectively as theyawaken in the Garden of Eden,discover the snake and moveout of the garden.
Carmen Domek will provide
sound-effect piano music dur-ing the production.
“The comedy in this play isdriven by the fact that Adamcannot stand Eve’s constantinterruptions and her cleverway of taking charge. Theybegin to sound like a marriedcouple,” said Hupperts.
Admission to the perfor-mance will be free, however, afreewill offering will be takento cover costs. Remaining dona-tions will help support thechurch’s music program.
The supper cost will be $4.To attend the Wednesdayevening supper, contact thechurch at (715) 479-8501.
Church to host Adam and Evecomedy performance Jan. 18
what season it is. I take a walkand it feels like early spring oreven late fall. The grass is stillgreen. At least it is not grow-ing. I don’t see anyone mow-ing. But the calendar says it isJanuary 2012. So where’s thesnow?
The Old Farmers’ Almanacpredicts that Madison willhave exactly what it has hadso far this month: above aver-age temperatures (though itdoes not mention 50 degrees),snow showers, sunny andmild. I don’t see anythingthreatening ahead in thisweather bible and it indicatesthat the snowiest periods willbe in mid-December (but thatwas clearly wrong), late Febru-ary and early March. I remem-ber when Bill and I wereRVers spending winters inFlorida. It felt weird to haveno snow for two winters of mylife after growing up in Chica-go and then living in Ouray,Colo., at 8,500 feet above sealevel. Believe me, we got snowup there.
I guess if push comes to
shove, I am truly enjoying thisreprieve. It has saved me themoney I now must spend hav-ing the snow removed from mydriveway and walks. Probablya lot of car accidents havebeen avoided. I do, however,miss the silent beauty thatcomes with a lovely snowfall.Winters are a time to hunkerdown, curl up by a fire with agood book and a cup of cocoa.An interior time. But today Ilook outside to see those folksin light jackets walking theirdogs, riding bikes, and oneneighbor raking his leaves.
I might jinx this whole situ-ation by challenging theweather gods. Maybe writingthis column will result in ablizzard. And then I will besorry I ever spoke up. Or willI?
Mary Friedel-Hunt, MALCWS, is a freelance writerand psychotherapist in theMadison area. She can bereached at [email protected] or P.O. Box 1036, SpringGreen, WI 53588.
Peoples State Bank offereda community challenge for thethird year this past holidayseason and offered matchingfunds.
During the month ofDecember, the community wasasked to drop off nonperish-able food donations or mone-tary donations at any Peoples’location and the bank wouldmatch up to $5,000.
Through the generosity of
the community, the match wasmet and, in total, $13,383 wasdonated along with more than30 bags of groceries.
Donations made in a com-munity stayed in that commu-nity.
Food pantry recipientsincluded Vilas Food Pantry inEagle River, Rhinelander AreaFood Pantry and LakelandFood Pantry in Arbor Vitae,and donations collected in the
greater Wausau area went tothe Marathon County HungerCoalition.
Peoples State Bank is acommunity-owned bank cele-brating its 50th year in busi-ness. The bank contributesfinancial, in-kind and volun-teer assistance to hundreds oforganizations where the com-pany conducts its business.The bank has a network ofeight offices throughout cen-tral and northern Wisconsin.
Food pantry challenge surpasses goal
After recently holding a food drive, Peoples StateBank of Eagle River donated $1,197 to the VilasFood Pantry in Eagle River. Taking part in thecheck presentation were, from left, Vice Presi-
dent Mortgage Banker Val Dreger, food pantryPresident Donna Martens and bank site manag-er Amy Young.
--Staff Photo By ANTHONY DREW
LIFESTYLE
FROM PAGE 13were served this year and Iam anticipating even morenext year with the challenginglocal economy,” said Adams.“Area parents are very awareof this much-needed programand will be watching for sign-up forms. I am grateful that,thanks to people in the caringcommunity in which we live,we will be able to start the2012 program next October.”
The program also had arecord number of volunteershoppers this year accordingto Adams. “I am so thankful tothese wonderful people who sowillingly gave of their time. Ahuge thank-you must also begiven to the staff at bothPamida and Glik’s,” saidAdams.“I heard many compli-ments about how helpful theywere. And a special thank-youto Vilas County Social Ser-vices, for the program wouldnot run as smoothly withouttheir help.”
In addition to those wishingto remain anonymous, recentdonors include residents in
the following communities:
Eagle RiverMark and Rebecca Deditz,
Eagle Electric Inc., RobertKrieger, Michael C. Mettler,Northland Pines six-graders,Pamida Foundation, Bruceand Sharon Scott, and Dr.Fred and Karen Young.
Land O’LakesHeadwaters State Bank.
Other Wisconsin citiesKelli Heindel, Appleton;
Rick and Linda Lane,
Stoughton; and Edna A. New-bury, West Bend.
Other statesRobert Karow, Pompano
Beach, Fla.; and Mr. and Mrs.Edward Sapko, Palos Heights,Ill.
Thank you on behalf of all of the children you warmed this winter.Because of your generosity, the Vilas County News-Review’s
was able to buy warm winter clothing for
560 CHILDREN
WARM THE CHILDREN*Providing New Winter Clothing For Needy Children
NEWS-REVIEWSERVING THE NORTH WOODS FOR 126 YEARS
EAGLE RIVERWISCONSIN 54521
(715) 479-4421
SUPPORTWARM THECHILDREN
A SINCERE THANK-YOU TO ALL DONORS!Thanks to you, we reached our 2011 goal!
We are grateful for your generosity,Sharina Adams and Kurt Krueger
WATERSMEET, MICH.Dee Dee McGeshickMelissa McGeshickPeggy TuttleDeanie Wolbrink
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEER SHOPPERS
In Vilas County and theThree Lakes and Sugar Camp
areas of Oneida County
*With 501(c)3 status thru the Eagle River Rotary Club Foundation
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWINGfor their special contributions…
• Glik’s • Pamida of Eagle River • Vilas County Social ServicesVILAS COUNTY
JANUARY15-21
— “lots of them.” His goals areto learn how to eat healthyand to lose weight so he canrun and play with his grand-children and get off his medi-cations.
Tabitha Avery of EagleRiver said she would like tolose weight and learn how tokeep it off. “I am a single momto a wonderful son and, by get-ting myself in shape and los-ing weight, I hope to bearound for a long time for myson,” she said.
Rochelle Frank of EagleRiver said that her goals forthis challenge are to changeher life. “I want to become ahealthier, happier me,” shestated. She said there are a lotof health issues in her family.
“This is for me, my family,friends and all the people outthere who need a helpful handto kick start their new health-ier life!” she exclaimed.
Bobbie Hall of Eagle Riversaid she has already lost 57pounds and wants to exerciseregularly and learn aboutnutrition to make weight lossa lifelong change. “My hus-band and two sons have beena great support in my weight-loss journey,” she said. “I am acancer survivor of five yearsand studies show that weightloss and exercise reduce therisk of getting cancer again.”
Margaret Rainer of ThreeLakes said she has struggledwith weight loss for most ofher life. She is married, hastwo sons and is now a grand-mother. “I want to be healthi-er,” said Rainer. “I am a breastcancer survivor and I knowbeing overweight increasesyour risk.” She stated that sheis not very active and wants tomake a lifestyle change.
Michele Jacobson ofEagle River said, “My goalsare to learn a lifestyle changewhich incorporates fitnessand healthy eating habits.”Her intention is to begin achange that she will continueand sustain for life. She is themother of three sons and stat-ed that her youngest son isher mentor as he has trans-formed his body through hisdedication to fitness.
“I have spent the yearsraising my children andputting their needs first. Nowis my time,” she concluded.
YMCA of the Northwoodsprogram director Julia Johnsaid, “I am inspired by themotivation of this year’s con-testants. They are here for theright reasons, to learn how tolive and maintain a healthylifestyle.”
The contestants will workwith a team consisting of JulieLaCrosse, a registered dieti-tian, lead personal trainerKevin Schweer, who is a for-mer champion body-builder,and Matt Huebner, a formercollege and professional foot-ball player.
John also will help trainthe contestants as well as gen-erally oversee the 12 weeks.She has a degree in physicaleducation and is a group fit-ness instructor.
