TOPS open house taking place Tuesday

TOPS #AB 100, Lethbridge will hold an open house on Tuesday, April 17 at 10 a.m. at Southminster United Church.

The chapter will be giving out awards for weight loss in 2017, as well as having a rededication ceremony. All visitors are welcome. Please use the office entrance.

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) is a nonprofit support group for members who are trying to lose or maintain their weight. Each chapter is run by an executive. Each meeting consists of a confidential weigh-in with a meeting and program afterwards. Most meetings are an hour long.

Area Captain Eileen Schmidt will be in attendance at Tuesday’s open house. There are several chapters in the Lethbridge area, and Schmidt will be able to answer any questions regarding where and when the other chapters meet.

TOPS was started by four women sitting around a kitchen table, having coffee, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They all had health problems, and they all needed to lose weight. Esther Manz followed this up by establishing TOPS. At one time, she turned down an offer of $1 million in order to keep TOPS affordable for all members.

In Canada, it costs $44 a year to join TOPS, with a monthly fee of usually less than $10 that chapters use for rent and awards. TOPS is the oldest weight-loss organization and is celebrating 70 years in 2018. In the fall, TOPS #AB 100, Lethbridge will be celebrating its 55th birthday at a rally here in Lethbridge. It is the first chapter to be established in Alberta, and the third in Canada.

For more information, please go to www.TOPS.org or phone Judith at 403-331-3396.