Father's Day Contest Winners

In June we ran a contest to find stories about great Dads. The top three entries received a free one-month pass to Talisman Centre (or a one-month extension on a membership), as well as a bag of Talisman Centre goodies. Also, we donated all drop-in admission fees on Father's Day to the Calgary Prostate Cancer Foundation. Here are the three winning entries, in no particular order:

1. Don Schonfelder: "My Dad is amazing! Last year he was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma. This time last year he could barely walk without being out of breath. A few rounds of chemo and some recovery months later, he's cancer-free (amazing!) but he hasn't had the energy to get back to the gym. Can you help me give him a jump start?"
2. Jonathan Hedges: "My Dad is a great dad. He makes us most of our meals. He also takes my Mom and I on wonderful vacations. He takes me out for bike rides or swims every night. He is an awesome dad, and he knows it. Thanks Dad!"
   
3. Stephanie Brown: "Scott & I met about seven years ago. We were very young, very active, and veeeeery in love. Not long into our relationship, we discovered we were expecting. However, I don't think either of us could have expected how deeply we could fall in love until Aliyah came along. Everything in our world became about building our relationship, through the ups and the downs, but ultimately about being great parents. As an early high school dropout, becoming a father meant Scott had to refocus his life, which he promptly did, making us all very proud as he graduated from his program of choice; All the while teaching the joys of life to the joy of his life!
   
   "Finally, we tied the know! However, our greatly anticipated day was bitter-sweet as Scott's father passed away shortly after. We will forever have the memory of the happiness of that day. My husband suffered another great loss as his best buddy 'Ford the Dog' passed away last September. (R.I.P. Ford-o).
   
   "But we keep on truckin', and our little family grew. In January of this year our son Colton was born. Scott 'Dad' has always put us first and sometimes that means self-sacrifices (even if it means your sanity!) But in all seriousness, he has come to realize that sometimes you need to be aware of your own needs for the sake of your health. At just 28 years-old, he needs to be able to regain his optimal health so that we may continue to receive all the best he has to give. Please help him to turn the dreaded 'before' picture into a successful 'after' picture!"

Congratulations to all of our winners! Keep being great Dads, and enjoy your one-month passes to Talisman Centre!