SUBMITTED REPORT
Through the H-E-B Slim Down Showdown, Regina Butcher was able to show her students that everyone has the power to change, no matter their circumstance. As the principal at Fuentes Elementary in Kyle, she knows her actions affect many more lives than her words ever could.
At the start of the competition in January, she wrote, “I know now that being healthy isn’t about making temporary changes,” Butcher said. “It’s about making permanent changes. Making my own health a priority is the first step towards that change.”
Her goal was to win the prize money to pay for a new walking track around the school’s playground.
At the end of the contest, Butcher wrote on her blog, “I set my sights on that prize. My school and my kids need a track and I would do most anything to get them what they need. I love those 640 girls and boys and want them to get a new, safe track to use during recess and PE. I want my school community and neighborhood surrounding my school, to have a place to work together to improve their health.”
Though she did not up end winning the prize money, Butcher said she feels she has gained so much more.
Her last blog post read, “This “contest” has become more about people than about a prize. I’ve met experts who have taught me important lessons about health, diet and exercise. I’ve worked with Slimdown professionals who have given me advice, solutions, and perspectives. But the greatest treasures this forum has presented me are those individuals who have shared my pain and touched my wounds. Those people who say all the right words at all the right times have been a tremendous strength, but in the end it is your actions that have mattered to me the most. Your love and your belief in my ability to live, grow and change.”
Donations for a new track around the school’s playground would ease the disappointment of not winning. But mostly the new track would see Butcher’s goal come to fruition – the goal of promoting good health and leading by example.
