A STORY OF SUCCESS

Anyone who knows me knows that I am like a sponge for anything that is inspirational, motivational, and falls even slightly in the category of self-help, which is why I am head over heels in love with this issue.

One year ago, Traci Oliver, a local schoolteacher who had struggled with being overweight, approached us and asked if we would publicly cover her journey to health in the magazine. Traci had followed our past coverage of B.E. Thompson and his very publicized and successful weight loss journey. Traci felt she had tried everything, with no success, and was determined to get herself back to a healthy state. She thought sharing her journey publicly would provide even more motivation to succeed since it would put her directly in the spotlight for people to follow.

What Traci may not have been prepared for was the overwhelming number of people that she would touch and inspire along the way. Over the past year, we have published an update on Traci bimonthly. We thought it would be more helpful for readers to see the struggles and triumphs in real time rather than try to capture it all at the end of her journey.

Every other month we have witnessed Traci’s determination and perseverance; to say she is an inspiration is an understatement.

Our staff and readers have fallen in love with Traci and we have all been rooting for her success. I’m happy to report that Traci has not only accomplished many of her goals, she also has achieved much more. She has conquered fears, insecurities, and self-doubt.

Thank you Traci Oliver for sharing your journey with our team and readers. You will forever be a Healthy Living sweetheart.

Sincerely,

Kendra Akers

Publisher Publisher

Comments or questions for our publisher? Please email kendra@akersmediagroup.com. Our goal is to provide you with the best quality publication, so your feedback is vital.

EDITORIAL // DESIGN

TINA MORRISON editorial/community relations director tina@akersmediagroup.com

MARY ANN D ESANTIS editor-at-large maryann@akersmediagroup.com

SHEMIR WILES managing editor/writer shemir@akersmediagroup.com

JAMES COMBS staff writer james@akersmediagroup.com

MELANIE MELVIN marketing director melanie@akerscreative.com

LACEY MORGAN marketing assistant lacey@akerscreative.com contributing writers RICHARD T. BOSSHARDT, MD, FACS RICHARD BURGUET

ROBERT FROSS

THOMAS FROSS

ANNA GUNTER, RD, LD/N

FRED HILTON DR. MARK ROTHSCHILD

THOMAS H. RUGGIE, CHFC, CFP

STEVEN J. CODRARO associate creative director steve@akersmediagroup.com

JOSH CLARK senior designer/advertising josh@akersmediagroup.com

ANTHONY CASTO senior designer/editorial anthony@akersmediagroup.com

MICHAEL GAULIN production director michael@akersmediagroup.com

AUBREY AKERS production coordinator aubrey@akersmediagroup.com

FRED LOPEZ chief photographer fred@akersmediagroup.com

MATTHEW GAULIN photography assistant matt@akersmediagroup.com contributing photographer MORGAN ELLIS RON VANDEVANDER

SALES // MARKETING

TIM MCRAE vice president of sales and marketing tim@akersmediagroup.com

MIKE STEGALL senior marketing representative mike@akersmediagroup.com

LORI STRONG marketing representative lori@akersmediagroup.com

HEIDI RESSLER marketing representative heidi@akersmediagroup.com

SHAENA CHASTAIN sales assistant shaena@akersmediagroup.com

DISTRIBUTION

SCOTT HEGG distribution manager scott.hegg@akersmediagroup.com