MILWAUKEE – TOPS Club Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the original weight-loss support and wellness education organization founded in Milwaukee in 1948, has announced that Rick Danforth has been named president.
Danforth, who replaces Barb Cady, TOPS president since 2005, has been serving as the TOPS state coordinator for Maine since 2011.
Danforth, who will be the first male president of TOPS, joined a chapter in Maine in 2003, weighing 321 pounds. “I’ve struggled all my life with obesity and tried many programs. I came to TOPS through my wife and decided to join her at a meeting,” he said. “It took me a couple of meetings to realize this is where I needed to be. There was no phoniness in the chapter and no promises that I was going to have instant success. It was real people struggling with real life issues, and I could wrap my arms around that.”
In his first year, Danforth lost more than 100 pounds, earning a place in the TOPS Century Club. “I knew I had to lose the weight for me because I wanted to live longer and enjoy time with my eight grandsons,” he said.
Earlier this year, Danforth, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in microbiology in 1980 from the University of Maine at Farmington, stepped down as the quality assurance officer/laboratory program advisor/bioterrorism officer for the state of Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory, where he had worked since November 1999. Prior to that, he worked as a microbiologist for MaineGeneral Medical Center for more than 19 years. He has also served as a selectman in the town of Chelsea for the past 25 years.
Working as a scientist assisted him in losing weight.
“Specializing in microbiology, we deal in black and white. Working with the TOPS group, I used the same principles: keep it simple,” Danforth said. “Two basic principles of portion control and increasing physical activity were really what I needed.”
As his weight-loss journey requires constant perseverance, the support of the group has kept Danforth involved in the organization.
“I stay with TOPS because I’ve learned over the years that when I’ve gained back some weight that I cannot do it alone,” he said. “Life sometimes wears you down, and the best thing that can pick you up is the support of a friend. I’ve learned it is OK to take time for yourself by being more active and help others, so they can help you. I’m not afraid to ask for the help I need or to reach out to others in TOPS. We’re here to support each other.”
With TOPS celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2018, its mission remains to help and support members as they take off and keep off pounds sensibly.
“I’m looking forward to being able to explain how good and supportive this organization is for its members,” Danforth said. “TOPS is the perfect tool for those seeking guidance in losing weight and maintaining the loss. We are proudly nonprofit and incredibly affordable for all people. We continue to be innovative and creative while remaining true to the original principles and philosophy established 70 years ago. I’m hoping I can bring to TOPS the passion and feeling that I had the first day I walked into a chapter meeting.”
TOPS, the only nonprofit, noncommercial weight-loss organization of its kind, promotes successful weight management with a “Real People. Real Weight Loss.” philosophy that combines support from others at weekly chapter meetings, healthy eating, regular exercise and wellness information. Weekly meetings include private weigh-ins and informational programs featuring current nutrition, fitness and wellness information, positive reinforcement and motivation to adhere to food and exercise programs. TOPS has almost 125,000 members, male and female, 7 and older, in thousands of chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
As a leader in preventing and managing obesity internationally, TOPS has funded obesity and metabolic research at the Medical College of Wisconsin since 1966, providing more than $9 million to date from earnings and member contributions.
Visitors are welcome to attend their first TOPS meeting free of charge. Membership is affordable at just $32 per year in the U.S. and $44 per year in Canada, plus nominal chapter fees. The Sidney chapter meets Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in the Northside Commons Community Center, 316 W. Russell Road. For information, call 937-789-4317.
