3 pairs chosen for O-R’s Biggest Winner team
Celeste Van Kirk
Nikki Phillips, a member of the last Observer-Reporter Biggest Winner team, works out at Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center in South Strabane Township.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Nikki Phillips uses a stability ball during a workout with the previous Observer-Reporter Biggest Winner team earlier this year.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Carla Lander, a member of the last Observer-Reporter Biggest Winner team, works her upper body with ropes.
Two married couples and a pair of best friends will represent the Observer-Reporter in the seventh annual Biggest Winner competition that gets underway Jan. 15 at the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center.
More than two dozen people submitted applications to be on the reader team. Representatives of the newspaper and wellness center interviewed applicants who offered the most compelling reasons for participating in the seven-week health and fitness program.
Selected for the team were Joe and Lynn Manning; Nikki and John Popielarcheck, and Ashley Subasic and Megan Lindley.
“It was an extremely difficult decision to select only six people to be on the team with so many worthy candidates vying for the opportunity,” said Kendra Boni, fitness manager at the wellness center, who sat on the selection committee. “The team that was chosen is a unique opportunity for the program to feed off a built-in support system using the concept of couples. Each person on the team lends character and cohesiveness to the team, including humor, kindness, positivity and experience.”
Stress relief and overall wellness were motivators for Joe Manning, a Washington councilman, and his wife, Lynn, WJPA radio news director and news anchor.
“Our neglect in taking proper care of our bodies is lending itself to increased stress, less patience and an overall anxious state that affects not only our work lives but our home life as well,” they wrote in the application.
The Popielarchecks said they want to learn how to eat better, exercise properly and adopt a healthier lifestyle. John is a restaurant inspector, and Nikki is assistant director of graduate recruitment and admissions at California University of Pennsylvania.
“Our daughter is graduating college, and our son is graduating high school this year,” their said in their application. “This is the perfect opportunity to get healthy and learn the skills that will help us stay healthy as we inch closer to 50.”
Subasic and Lindley, best friends and co-workers at Penn Commercial Business/Technical School in Washington, have struggled with their weight over the past several years and are striving for healthier numbers.
“We both know that a healthy lifestyle will help us succeed in our goals. We both fully support each other and with working together know we’ll keep each other accountable during this adventure,” they wrote.
In addition to working out at 6 a.m. four times a week for seven weeks with a personal trainer, this year’s program also includes weekly health coaching; meetings with dietitians; pre- and post-testing, including blood lipids, and a choice of metabolic testing with a meal plan, 30-minute mindset session or gear for home workouts.
“The wellness center and its staff are privileged to be able to work with such a motivated team,” Boni noted. “Jan. 15 can’t get here soon enough!”