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True Inspiration
DN staffers haul in 11 awards in AP contest By The Daily News
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weather Today: Partly sunny, high around 30 Tonight: Partly cloudy, low 5 to 10 above Sunday: Mostly sunny, highs in the mid-30s
Sports
Lakeview and Belding boys basketball teams win district titles, Page 1B
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Daily News/Curtis Wildfong
What began as simply walking in place turned into a vigorous daily workout routine for Tiffany Duffield, who is one of three finalist for the Governor’s Fitness Award for Conquering Obesity.
Snap Fitness manager’s transformation results in Governor’s Award nomination By Curtis Wildfong
Daily News staff writer
GREENVILLE — Out of breath at the top of a flight of stairs and her lips and fingers tingling, a 363-pound Tiffany Duffield decided she had had enough. At 29 years old, she had to lose weight. “That was my breaking point. I called my husband and said I can’t do this anymore,” Duffield said. “I felt like I was going to die.” But that was six years ago, and that was a different Duffield. Today, Duffield, 35 and 220 pounds slimmer, fitness is her life. She is the manager at Snap Fitness in Greenville, is a competitive cyclist with a team in Rockford and has a whole new outlook on life. “There are so many things I couldn’t do that I can now,” said Duffield, who with her husband Jeramy have three daughters, Brianne, 16, Aspen, 10 and Chloe, 8. “I can take my girls to the movie theater now and not have the arms poking you in the side. I can go to the amusement park and ride all the rides and not fear if the bar will close. “My daughters got a whole new mom.” “She couldn’t physically do what she wanted to do, like play with the kids or ride a bike,” Jeramy Duffield said.
Courtesy photo
After six years of hard work, Tiffany Duffield, now manager at Snap Fitness in Greenville, had lost 220 pounds in an effort to live a healthier life. Weighing 363 pounds at the age of 29, Duffield knew she had to make changes and is now focused on helping others accomplish a better life.
“It’s allowed us to do a lot more as a family. We go to the beach and the park and are able to have fun.” Struggles with weight began early Weight was always an issue for Duffield, dating back to her early teen years. “I was always chunky,” she said. “As
a kid it was thunder thighs. I was a chunky girl and I never did anything to take care of it.” Things would get worse before better. At 15, Duffield’s father died of heart disease, albeit not weight related. Following her father’s death, Duffield’s health continued to spiral. See Inspiration, Page 2A
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Area News �������� Page 3A Opinions ����������� Page 4A Health/Wellness �� Page 5A Opinions ����������� Page 4A Celebrations ���� Page 10A Obituaries ������� Page 10A Lottery ������������ Page 10A Weather ���������� Page 10A Sports ����������� Pages 1-2B Classifieds ���� Pages 3-4B Experiences ������� Page 4B Comics �������������� Page 5B Business Beat ���� Page 6B
With her earbuds in and the music playing, Tiffany Duffield goes through her workout routine Friday at Snap Fitness in Greenville, a gym she now manages.
Governor candidate Schauer makes a visit to Greenville
Your neighbor who knows
n Democrat Mark Schauer says he’s focused on education and the middle class
Serving Greenville, Belding and Montcalm County since 1854 Year 159, Issue 57
By Curtis Wildfong
Daily News staff writer
The Daily News is printed on recycled paper
Daily News/Curtis Wildfong
Democratic candidate for governor Mark Schauer speaks to a crowd of fellow Democrats and Montcalm County residents at Huckleberry’s Restaurant in Greenville Friday.
LANSING — There are nearly 30 daily newspapers with a circulation of 15,000 or less in Michigan. Only two will win as many awards in the 2013 Michigan Associated Press Media Editors (APME) Contest as The Daily News. Daily News staffers were recently announced to be finalists for 11 Cory awards for their Smith work in 2013. Three finalists were named in each of 21 categories. (See box on Page 2A for a complete list of finalists.) First-, second- and thirdplace awards will be announced at the Michigan APME Mike Taylor annual luncheon in Lansing on June 1. “This might be the most Associated Press contest awards The Daily News has ever won,” Managing Editor Darrin Clark said. “It is definitely the most we’ve won Curtis in the past 20 years. Wildfong We’ve had a lot of years with four or five awards. We won eight in 1999 and seven in 1997 and 2000. “I’m really happy for our staff,” he added. “We had a Maureen significant overhaul Burns about two years ago. We hired some new people and changed the positions of a few others. The idea was to put people in positions that played to their strengths and interests. I think this is proof that our structure is
GREENVILLE — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer stopped at Huckleberry’s Restaurant Friday with the message of a need for change in Lansing, taking his shots at Gov. Rick Snyder. “This one tough nerd has been tough on all the wrong people,” Schauer said to a room full of fellow Democrats, many of them running for statewide
office. “He has not been tough on his corporate special interest friends. He’s been tough on our kids, he’s been tough on our families, he’s been tough on our working people and he’s been tough on our communities.” Schauer offered those in attendance his ideas for change for Michigan, listing education as his top priority. “I think teachers are the most important profession in our society because they teach our kids,” he said. “We should support them, instead they have been under attack and vilified.” Schauer coined himself the “people’s governor,” claiming to create an economy that is beneficial for all people if See Schauer, Page 2A
See Awards, Page 2A
It’s PCH scam season
D
ear DO Line Readers: It’s Publishers Clearinghouse scam season again. Beware. Here are two Daily News readers who have contacted DO Line because they have received phone calls from someone saying they won a prize. R.B. of Stanton DO Line told DO Line she got B y Martha a call that said she Higbie won $500,000 and was told to go to Wal-Mart to get a green.dot scratch card for $195. They were brazen enough to call again and say, ìAre you doing what you are supposed to do? The calls were from a 773 area code, which is Des Plaines, Illinois. DO Line could not get a good trace on the phone number. B.H. of Greenville said, “I am getting calls from a Robert Brown who said he was from Publisher’s Clearinghouse. He said I am a second-place $550,000 winner and I will get a new car as a bonus. All I have to do is go to Walgreens and buy a “claim card” for $550. He said there would be a service fee of $4.95. He told me not to tell anyone. “During the conversation, he wanted to confirm who I am and asked for my driver’s license number. No. I didn’t give him my license number. I believe the phone number is from Kingston, Jamaica. By the way, he had an accent that could be Jamaican. “He has called lots of times. I know this is a scam. Just wanted you to know so others won’t fall victim to this lie.” Dear R.B. and B.H.: Thanks for letting us know. We checked with Publisher’s Clearing House (PCH) and they made it clear that we all should “beware of fraudsters pretending to be real PCH employees.” In fact, PCH says that winning is always free and you NEVER have to See DO Line, Page 2A