Email |

'Biggest losers' at Sullivan North, Sullivan Middle

Published February 28th, 2009 | 1 Comments

Members of the Sullivan North High School team that won the countywide weight loss competition are, from left: Chad Robinson, Dan DeBoard, Preston Patrick, Travis Rasnake and Tammy Minnick, center. David Grace photo.

Across the Sullivan County school system, the biggest faculty and staff losers are at Sullivan North High School and Sullivan Middle School.

However, that’s a good thing.

It means folks at those two schools have reached the pinnacle of success in the school system’s first Wellness Challenge.

Meredith Charles, coordinated school health director, based the six-week Wellness Challenge loosely on the network television reality show “The Biggest Loser.”

Courtney Tate of Sullivan Middle won the Female Biggest Loser award. Tate lost 11.25 percent of her body weight.

Travis Rasnake of North High won the Male Biggest Loser by losing 10 percent if his body weight.

“We had a countywide meeting,” said Rasnake, baseball and strength conditioning coach. “We thought about it and jumped on board. After Christmas, I weighed 203.”

He got down to 183 pounds on the program, which weighed participants every Monday. But Rasnake has gone back to 187, which he said is about normal for him.

And the Biggest Loser Team was also at North High School. The team — named “Hogg Mollies” at students’ suggestion — was made up of Rasnake, social studies teacher Preston Patrick, science teacher Dan DeBoard, bookkeeper Tammy Minnick and criminal justice teacher Chad Robinson.

In second place was a team at Sullivan Middle School.

All told, 513 people participated spread across 111 teams of four or five people. Charles said the program was designed so folks ranging from amateur athletes to pure couch potatoes could participate. Participants got points for drinking water, avoiding soft drinks and other sweetened drinks, and exercising, as well as weight loss as a percentage of body weight.

Only faculty, administration and staff participated in the program, but Charles said students cheering on teachers and others got bonus lessons in wellness, nutrition and exercise.

“We’re seeing a lot of benefits as far as trying to put more physical activities into the day,” Charles said, although she also said “people hide fast food bags from me” when she visits the schools.

She said the program “was designed for schools to set a good example for the children and help encourage them to make better choices and be more active both before school and after.”

“We are in fear of losing our (Tennessee) funding this year due to the economic struggles, and this program has brought schools together, encouraged a healthy lifestyle, and shown the impact making better choices can have on the overall school environment,” said Charles, who is in her second year of her job.

All participants who successfully completed the six-week program will receive a prize to help them include more physical activity into their classroom or gym, as well a gift for faculty members of a water bottle, pedometer, radio with headphones or weight loss workout T-shirt, she said.

Teachers, aides, secretaries, principals and support staff were eligible to participate in all 28 schools countywide.

The competition was based on a points system and emphasized exercise, water consumption and weigh-ins over the six weeks.

Charles developed the points system for the program, which she hopes to do again for another six weeks before the end of the school year.

Discuss This Story

Be the first to comment: Sign In or Create Profile .

Congrats to all my teachers at North!
It's great to see something good about the North zone in the paper other than school closings.

Where is The love? | 3/1/2009 - 12:04 AM - ( Comment

Suggest Removal )

To comment, you must register.

Comments are the sole responsibility of the registered user participating in online discussions. You agree not to post comments off topic, abusive, obscene, defamatory, vulgar, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned.

Click here to review our complete user agreement.

Times-News Online on Facebook