Members of this year’s Be Fit winning team from left are: Gail Dennison, Nicole Cizik, Betsy Mentel, Nicole Anderson.

Get Fit/Be Fit hands out first prizes of ’12

Mower County residents are sweating it out again, and they’ve finished the first stage of 2012’s Get Fit/Be Fit challenge.

Members of this year’s Get Fit winning team from left are: Lenora Mallory, Cindy Brady, Jerry Mallory, Ashley Wilson, Sherri Jo Wilson, Kim Bumgarner and Bob Bumgarner.

Get Fit and Be Fit Winners from the first 2012 mini challenge, held by the YMCA and the United Way of Mower County, were awarded their prizes during the Monday night mall walk at Oak Park Mall.

Get Fit winners are from team Sassy Seven: Kim Bumgarner, Bob Bumgarner, Cindy Brady, Ashley Wilson, Sherri Jo Wilson, Jerry Mallory and Lenora Mallory.

“Before the challenge even began, we all got together for a pep rally and set forth a plan for success,” said Bumgarner, team captain of Sassy Seven. “None of us wanted to let the other team members down; and even though a couple of our members had either injuries or college classes to work through, we hung in there and are proud to be the winners of the first mini challenge.”

Each member of the Sassy Seven team received a cookbook, GoFit Kettlebell and DVD.

Be Fit winners are from team No Bane, No Gain: Nicole Cizik, Gail Dennison, Betsy Mentel and Nicole Anderson. Each member received an Ellie Krieger cookbook and one-hour massage gift certificate from Excel Fitness and Shelly Thielman.

“I am so glad to be a part of a team,” Dennison said. “It really helps keep me motivated. It is exciting to win, and we all loved our prizes.”

The Get Fit/Be Fit program went through a number of tweaks over the years. Mandi Lighthizer-Schmidt, executive director of the United Way of Mower County, said the competition was divided into smaller mini challenges, giving participants more opportunities to win prizes but also to be more successful in their quest to live healthier lifestyles.

This year there are 584 Get Fit participants and 91 Be Fit participants. The Get Fit/Be Fit Challenge will announce winners of the second mini challenge next week. The contest continues through March 29.