Frank, Nykile and Brian's Story

Lee Scott once said that we should never underestimate what our associates can do when they get behind something.

This sentiment certainly sums up the efforts of Sam's Club associates Frank Harman, Nykile Pritchett and Brian Boles. In January 2008, Frank, a manager in our call center in the Home Office in Bentonville, was pondering his New Year's Resolution. At 310 pounds, he was worried about his health and was slowly making the decision to focus on living a healthier lifestyle.

As they say, sometimes things just fall into place. That very week, Frank received an e-mail from one of his co-workers, Nykile. Nykile was organizing a competition among associates. The rules were simple. The associate who lost the greatest percentage of body fat between January and April would be named the winner. Frank threw his name in the hat.

"The rest is history," says Frank.

Nykile's e-mail made its way around the Home Office and 15 interested associates — including Frank and Brian — quickly bonded as each individual began to focus on eating healthier and working out.

"We would see each other at the gym and start talking about the things we were doing to make changes in our lives," Brian says.

As April approached, Brian and Frank found themselves leading the pack in the competition. Brian eventually was named the winner, having lost more than 60 pounds from his starting weight of 270 pounds.

"He beat me by one pound," says Frank, whose weight is now under 200. "But I was content with that because I knew I was going to keep going. After four months of our group challenge, this was no longer just a competition for me. It was a new lifestyle."

Beyond the amazing physical changes the men have experienced as a result of their challenge, they have found something even more important and harder to measure — friendship. All three still make it a point to check in with each other and often find themselves side-by-side in the weights room at the Walton Life Fitness Center.

"I started the challenge thinking it would be great to have a support group around me as I was setting out to lose weight. But it turned out to be a great way to network. I'm so pleased to have met new people around the Company and that I've made so many new friends," says Nykile.