For 25 days in May, every step that Beth Nuccio took counted.
The Brandon Township resident and Oakland County Commissioner logged 432,827 steps from May 4-May 29 and by doing so, won the first-ever ‘Commissioners Count Your Steps Charity Competition.?
As the winner, Nuccio earned $700 for her chosen charity, the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund. A check will be presented to OCEF President Karyn Milligan by the Oakland County Commissioners at their July 6 meeting.
The contest was begun by John Scott, who proposed the challenge to his fellow commissioners, seven of whom accepted and pledged $100 each with some counting steps and pledging, and others simply donating for the cause, with the idea that whomever won would give the money to the charity of their choice.
‘The nice part is, it was bi-partisan and no matter what, a charity would win,? said Nuccio. ‘I chose OCEF for obvious reasons? it’s a great cause and I wanted to keep the money in my district.?
Nuccio tries to walk an hour each day. Noting that May was ‘a little bit of a soggy month,? she walked in her neighborhood and during her lunch hour as the career services director at Baker College, she walked around the mall. She also walked her dogs at Independence Oaks.
The first week, she was averaging 10,000 steps a day, recorded on her pedometer. Then, she talked to some other commissioners and after learning Commissioner Mike Bosnic plays pick-up basketball, she decided she needed to increase her mileage.
‘I never told them anything,? she said. ‘I thought, ‘Why are you putting that out there???
Bosnic wound up coming in second place with 393,444 steps and was followed by Commissioners Philip J. Weipert with 244,772 steps, Thomas F. Middleton, with 204,949 steps, and Scott, with 170,201 steps. Commissioner Helaine Zack and Board Vice-Chairman Jeff Matis each donated $100 without counting their steps.
‘I’m sure we will do this again,? said Nuccio. ‘Maybe we’ll see if there are other competitions we can have, that’s always fun. Winning is the most fun, though.?