HealthyState is pleased to announce the winners of the “Healthiest Person Contest.” Congratulations to everyone who was nominated – you made it difficult for us to choose. You are all a true inspiration of health!
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Healthiest People In Florida: Honorable Mentions
By Mia Tignor – A big thank you goes out to all the people who nominated whom they thought was Florida’s “Healthiest Person”. HealthyState.org received nearly a thousand nominations – making it a very difficult task to choose the top three.
We’d like to give a shout out to some others who caught our attention. And again, thank you to everyone who’s helping make our communities and our state a happy and healthier place to live.
Toby Davidow: Healthiest Person In Miami
By Sammy Mack – Inspirational. That’s the word most commonly used to describe Toby Davidow in the nearly two dozen Healthiest Person nominations she received. After eating a sweet, crunchy snap pea straight off the vine in Davidow’s yard, we have to agree.Davidow’s been growing an organic garden in her South Florida yard for 40 years. She practices yoga. She volunteers her time with a host of charitable organizations. And at seventy years old, Davidow finished her first marathon.
Ferd DeSantis, Healthiest Person in Southwest Florida
By Farah Dosani – Ferd DeSantis is a fighter in every sense of the word. The Fort Myers man has a third-degree black belt in multiple styles of martial arts. He regularly works out at the gym and trains with other fighters.
He’s also 85 years old.“I enjoy training. I try to outdo myself,” said DeSantis, who got his first black belt when he was 72. “I still try to see if I can get better and better – even at my old age.” While most people slow down as they grow older, DeSantis has kept up the pace. And some people may say he has even kicked it up a notch.
Ryan Haczynski, Voted Tampa Bay’s Healthiest Person
By Dalia Colón – Ryan Haczynski was 22, a college drop-out who worked at an auto parts store and smoked. No girlfriend, no future. He was depressed, and he had the body to show for it. While doing laundry at his mom’s house in Massachusettes one day, the 6-foot-1 Haczynski stepped on her bathroom scale.“That was my rock bottom,” Haczynski says. “I actually had to lean forward to look past my stomach to see what the number was on the scale.”257.“I just snapped.” Haczynski drove to a bike shop he’d remembered seeing. He spotted a blue hybrid bike–he’s a sucker for blue–and within 15 minutes was driving home, the bike stuffed into the trunk of his Oldsmobile.