Rhonda Heaslip

Nanaimo Realtor and champion power-lifter Rhonda Heaslip of Re/Max of Nanaimo kicked off part of her new Raise the Bar fundraising drive at the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board training room recently. The world champion weightlifter was on hand for a professional photo shoot that will be used as part of her campaign branding this year. Last year her efforts raised $3,600 for the new emergency ward at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH). This year’s focus will be on fundraising for the Children’s Miracle network (CMN). “The ultimate goal is to raise $15,000 for both NRGH and the CMN – for a total amount of $30,000,” she says. “I’m not sure how long it will take to raise that much, but it will be as long as it is.”

Heaslip, with professional photographer Lance Sullivan and Nanaimo Daily News reporter Josh Aldrich, staged a series of publicity shots of her (lifting a 185 pound weight) in the training room that will become part of her campaign literature.