At last—I finished The Fat to Fit Meltdown Manual: Create Weapons of Mass Reduction in Your Community (ISBN 978-0-9766030-5-4) and I have the published book sitting next to me as I write this.
What started out as a 30-page spiral-bound workbook designed to help organizers create a community weight loss event turned into a 110-page paperback, complete with information, charts and forms.
Elisa Parker helped me with much of the detail because it was a huge sorting, sifting and organizing project. When I led the Nevada County Meltdown in 2004, I didn’t expect that it would take on its own life. Plus, I was busy organizing an event with volunteers, an event for over a thousand enthusiastic neighbors and friends who were busily e-mailing me and each other.
To recreate the event, I sorted through e-mails, letters, registration and team forms, checklists and class notes. I also reviewed video footage and photos. The materials filled two large boxes. I was both grateful to have saved almost everything and daunted by the tedious task of organizing materials in a useful and comprehensible way.
When I had a working draft, I sent it to key participants, who added their own perspectives. They fleshed out elements that I had forgotten about or simply wasn’t aware of. Thanks to the extra sets of eyes, the manual is as complete as we can make it.
The manual retails for $89; group discounts are available. Also, if you want to organize a Community Meltdown, you can write me and get permission to reprint parts of the book.
This is my Christmas present to myself—ending the year with one useful and completed project. Maybe I’ll put a bow around it and tuck it under the Christmas tree. And then I’m going to take a badly needed rest!
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