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Port Alberni athletes put on fitness ‘FUNdraiser’ for frontline workers

Outdoor boot camp will be limited to 50, with donations helping frontline workers’ mental health
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Brooke Pighin, left, and Lisa Duncan, both Port Alberni athletes and fitness gurus, are holding a Fitness FUNdraiser this Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020 at Bob Dailey Stadium to help frontline workers’ mental health programs. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

A pair of Port Alberni athletes are putting on a fitness FUNdraiser this Saturday, Aug. 15 to assist frontline workers’ mental health services.

Brooke Pighin and Lisa Duncan came up with the boot camp type event as a way to raise funds and be fit in a safe environment. Pighin said the event will take place outdoors at Bob Dailey Stadium on Roger Street starting at 9 a.m. Participants must pre-register online and only 50 will be permitted.

Funds raised will go to Legacy Place Society, which provides assistance and resources to frontline workers. Although based in Calgary, funds raised in Port Alberni will be used for Port Alberni personnel, Pighin said. Anyone wishing to register is asked for a minimum $20 donation and bring two non-perishable food items. These will be used as weights during the boot camp, then donated to the Community Food Bank in Port Alberni.

Pighin, a former nationally ranked track and field athlete, has been stuck in the Alberni Valley since February, when she came from Washington State to visit family. “Yes, I’m one of those with Washington plates on my car,” she said.

Pighin, an athlete originally from Port Alberni, has been living in Washington State. She earned a Masters in Health and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Washington, and transitioned out of track and field and into international bodybuilding.

Since she has been stuck on Vancouver Island, Pighin has been contracting out of Alberni Fitness to run some boot camp sessions at Bob Dailey Stadium, and they have been popular, she said. She and Duncan are both bodybuilders.

Anyone wishing to participate in Saturday’s Fitness FUNdraiser can register on the event’s Facebook page, or call Pighin at 425-633-0567. There will also be draw prizes among participants: community businesses and organizations have donated items for prizes.



Susie Quinn

About the Author: Susie Quinn

A journalist since 1987, I proudly serve as the Alberni Valley News editor.
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