Top 100 continued from page 50
Kerry Tate — Fitness Guru and
Proprietor of Tate’s Total Training
A solid powerhouse of a man, Kerry Tate is a local icon of
fitness. There’s a side to Tate that few people are aware of.
“I teach adult Sunday School for my church at Mount Zion
in Graham,” Tate said, adding, “I love the life I get to live
and am grateful for it. It’s been a ride to get to where I am.
It doesn’t matter how you start, it only matters where you
end up. I like people and people tend to like me… I’ve
learned to use it in the right way.”
Tate is a native of Olney, where his dad worked for Dow
Chemical and his mother was a nurse. He has seven sisters
and three brothers. “I’m number seven out of 11. It’s great
to be from a big family. Someone who has your best inter-
est at heart.” Why did Tate choose to go into the fitness
business?
“I didn’t choose it,” he said. “I backed into it. I was build-
ing custom homes for a man named Kelly Horton. I was
working out on the interstate at the Health Forum and the
man who owned it pursued me to come work for him.” He
did and the rest is PC history.
Tate loves to fish and has fairly recently picked up another
pastime — cutting. He was introduced to the sport by a
client, Bruce Moline. “It’s been a great opportunity and
been a lot of fun,” Tate Said. “I enjoy it. You learn a lot
from an animal, especially performance animals.” Tate
believes in paying it forward. “To whom much is given,
much is required,” he said. To Tate, the best day ever is,
“Get up, go cut a little and fish a little. Take it easy. And
maybe cook a little.”
Whitney Guess — Eighth-
Grade Math Teacher and
Coach at Hall Middle School
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Whitney loves teaching middle school kiddos.
“Middle schoolers are such a mess (in a good
way); they make me genuinely laugh almost
every day with their bizarre sense of humor
and view on the world as they start to figure
out their place.” Most people don’t know that
she loves reading and watching anything about
the zombie outbreak and that her grandparents
made their living as professional square-dance
callers. How does she pay it forward? “I like
little gestures — making a point to compli-
ment a stranger or help open a door. Tiny acts
that may give someone a smile, brighten their
day, or just reassure them that people aren’t
all bad.” Her definition of the best day ever
would be spent outside hiking in Colorado with
her husband, daughter and soon-to-come new
baby.