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Shenendehowa's Version of the Biggest Loser

"The Biggest Loser," where people compete to shed pounds in the hopes of winning a huge cash prize. Well, this past Winter the staff at the three Shenendehowa Middle Schools held their own contest, and all for a great cause.

81 staff members from Acadia, Gowana and Koda took part in an eight week challenge to see which staff member and which school building could lose the highest percentage of body weight. Percentage of body weight was chosen in order to make the contest appeal to all possible participants. The final results of The Biggest Loser looked like this:

  • First: Jonathan Messinger of Acadia
  • Second: Cheryl Barbour of Gowana
  • Third: (tie) Al Green, Gail Bates and Sandra Mlodzinski, all of Acadia

And Acadia also was atop the leaderboard when it came to the school standings. Overall, all staff members combined to lose 492 pounds.

But that's not the biggest part of the story. That goes to the $400 that was raised and will be given to the local food pantry. That money came from the entrant fee each contestant donated to join the contest.

Holli Mulholland, one of the middle school staffers to organize and participate, said they chose the food pantry for several reasons: to help the hungry and to serve as a reminder to the staff as to how fortunate they are.

"March is a good time to help the food pantry restock for the Spring and Summer. I also think having the food pantry be the recipient of the donations makes an impact on the way the participants view over eating. Often times many of us do not think of where our next meal is going to come from, and for that matter most likely over eat at every meal. It is a great reminder that there are people out there that do not have the means to feed themselves or their families."

The Shenendehowa Biggest Loser was such a big success, that there have already been discussions to hold another one. Stay tuned.