One More Thing...

When we were in line to meet Ali Vincent the other day in Famous Footwear, I saw a sign in the store. I read it aloud to Tracy, "Hey, if we buy a pair of shoes, we will get Ali's new book for free. All we need to do is find a pair of shoes to buy. Maybe one of us can..."

I stopped talked because as I stopped reading the sign and turned to where Tracy had been standing, I realized that Tracy was gone. She was already four aisles over looking for a new pair of shoes!

I guess I didn't need to ask her twice! The girl loves shoes.

Meeting Ali Vincent

Yesterday, Tracy and I had the opportunity to meet Ali Vincent, the first female to win on The Biggest Loser reality show. Ali was at Famous Footwear promotion appearing with her mom, Bette Sue. Tracy and I are big fans of the show so it was exciting to meet them. One thing that I realized is that it might be more fun meeting a star from a reality show than a famous actor or actress, because with the reality show star, they are playing themselves whereas the actor or actress may be nothing like the characters they pretend to be.

I told Ali that Tracy had vowed to quit watching the show if another season went by without a woman winning. Ali said that the producers actually were planning on changing the show with separate male and female winners if a woman didn't win during season five. She said she wasn't going to let that happen.

I also commented that she seemed to be a very competitive person and that really helped her on the show. She said that that was one thing that she learned about herself during the process-- that she is an athlete. And going forward, she's always looking for new challenges and different ways to compete.

Other things we learned for her and Bette Sue:

• Ali has a sister who is married to someone taller than I am (6'11")
• Weigh-ins on the show take place every 6-8 days
• Testing is done to prevent weight loss supplements or other cheating from taking place
• The trainers work with the contestants every day for four hours. Each contestant gets about 45 minutes alone with a trainer.
• Bette Sue hated being on the show. She hates to work out. But she's lost 30 more pounds since being on the show. Her secret is she eats "lots of small meals". She said she used to not eat much all day long, work all day, then have a big meal in the evening.
• They don't work out on the weigh-in days.
• Filming for the weigh-ins takes about three hours.
• They weigh-in before filming in a separate room with witnesses and show producers. The scale on the show is just for show.
• I asked if the producers call them up to weigh-in based on what would create the most drama. Bette Sue said she didn't know, but that she wouldn't doubt it because it is a show and they want it to be interesting.
  

Spring Fling 2010

Spring Fling II took place on May 22. It's Tracy's big Relay for Life fund raiser for the season. The weather was hot and windy, but we were very pleased with the turn out. Overall, I think the amount raised was close to what it was last year, coming in at slightly less than $1,500.

We had a number of great items donated including a football signed by the Husker football team, toys donated by Fat Brain Toys, and a large amount of pork tenderloin by Farmland of Crete. Guests were able to bid on the items in our silent auction. We also had wine tasting and food. And, of course, the Dirt Hill Rockers once again rocked the neighborhood with four hours of music.

With about a month and a half left before the Relay, our team has raised about half of our goal. So we have a long way to go, but we are very pleased with the generosity that we've seen so far.

Hoops Against Cancer

My big fundraiser for the year was the Hoops Against Cancer 3 on 3 basketball tournament on April 24. This was the 2nd year running the tourney. I tried to improve it over last year, and I think we did so in many ways. We had 18 teams this year over the five we had in year one. The biggest change that was made is that I was able to find some excellent helpers. Ricky Woods, Chad Turner, and Brandan Turner joined me to form a "committee" to run the tourney.

Ricky got on to local radio station Froggy 98 to promote the tourney and get some free publicity. At one point, the radio personalities were going to have a team, but their plans fell through. Ricky also secured many donations including a football signed by over 30 Huskers. We're actually going to auction that off this Saturday at our Spring Fling party. Ricky also had a team in the tourney.

Chad also secured many donations from local businesses. He has a lot of contacts through his CD Warehouse store. The highlight of his contribution might have been securing four rounds of free golf with two carts at Hill Crest Country Club ($260 value). Chad also helped officiate at the tourney.

We wound up raising over $1,300 this year. We were very pleased. The day went smoothly. We had three divisions this year including five teams in a women's division. Everyone seemed to have a great time. And we were able to raise good money for a great cause.

Raising Awareness

The cause of fighting against cancer needs spokespeople and one way that we've been able to fight back is by getting involved with public speaking opportunities. Tracy is particularly good with telling her story. Recently, we were asked to speak at Waverly High School as part of their "Purple Week" to raise awareness of the dangers with cancer. As usual, Tracy did a great job telling her story. On the other hand, I found out that following Tracy and speaking about personal issues are not easy for me to do. I always get a little emotional listening to Tracy speak. And I was out of my comfort zone talking about our experiences with cancer in front of so many former students.

We were very impressed with the turnout of students who came to the Purple Rally. We'd like to thank the committee for asking us to speak!