The bright red T-shirt tells you everything you need to know about pickleball players: “That’s What I Do. I Play Pickleball” The shirt belongs to Joe Cress, but it could easily be worn by any of the other avid players in Abilene–or across the nation. The Association of Pickleball Professionals estimated that in 2022, there were 36.5 million pickleball players in the United … [Read more...]
Food as Medicine
Chef Creates Functional Nutrition Program You wouldn’t believe it now, but the founder of cordellFit – “a functional lifestyle” – got his start making white gravy and French toast in his grandmother’s farmhouse kitchen. Jason Cordell Beard looks much too fit these days to imagine that he once craved white gravy and French toast (not at the same time). But he got his first … [Read more...]
Chike Factory Tour
“Chike: Energizing and Empowering Potential” That’s the slogan of a company nestled along the south side of Interstate 20 just east of the Walmart Supercenter. It’s easy to miss the long gray building when whizzing by on the Interstate. But it’s worth taking a closer look. An electronic map on one wall of an office space inside is dotted with locations literally all over … [Read more...]
100 Pounds, 100% Grit
An Abilene Mother's Weight Loss Journey It wasn’t a New Year’s resolution that drove Sarrah Barton to lose 100 pounds in a year. That kind of motivation, coupled with crash diets, had never worked. It took something much more serious. That “something” came the day her son, Grayson, almost died in her arms from diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, as it’s commonly known. It … [Read more...]
Abilene’s Ninja Warrior
Two-year-old Hank was in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV due to a lung infection, at Cook Children’s Medical Center, and he and his dad, Abilene firefighter Shane Haught, passed time watching American Ninja Warrior re-runs. It was late at night, and Shane likened it to the feel of an informercial when the words ran across the screen: “Do you want to be on the show? Here’s … [Read more...]