Employees of BayCoast Bank and Mechanics Bank competed head-to-head on a grueling course of exercises at Diman Regional High Schools athletic field on September 14, 2013. Dubbed the "First Annual Mechanics Cooperative Bank Endurance Challenge" the event brought together thirty contestants, twenty from BayCoast and ten from Mechanics, along withtheir cheering squads for a two-hour event on a cool, crisp September afternoon. Events included a quarter-mile run, followed by push-ups, sit-ups, squat-thrusts, rope jumping, bench presses and tire flips. Mechanics Bank issued the invitation to BayCoast, who accepted the challenge. Teams from both banks then worked with personal trainers over the summer to get in shape and to prepare them for the different stations. "This was not an easy challenge," stated Boys and Girls Club CEO Peter McCarthy. "These guys really had to go all out just to stay in the competition." Click here for a five-minute video of the event. For more information, contact BayCoast Bank Employee Wellness Coordinator Barbara Tripp at 508-678-7641.

(Top row, left) BayCoast Wellness Committee chairperson Barbara Tripp and Lucy Borges cheer on Paul Mello and Donna Gancarski before they begin their quarter mile run around the track. (Row two, right) Deb Grimes does 50 situps at her station. (Row three, center) Barry Goulet lifts a kettle weight above his head 25 times. (Row three, right) Annemarie Baptista gets up from doing pushups to move to the next event at Peter McCarthy of the Boys and Girls Club stands by. (Bottom row, left) Mechanics Bank CEO Joe Baptista finishes his weight lifts as John McMahon does pushups monitored by Paul Michael of St. Vincent's Home. (Bottom row, right) BayCoast employee Mark Gendreau grimaces as he completes 50 situps.