RUMFORD — Mountain Valley High School (MVHS) students rose for a standing ovation as the Roger Pepin Fitness Room was dedicated recently.

To most students and staff, Pepin is a frequent power walker at the school. He always has a smile and positive comment for all he meets during his walks. The dedication poster said, “Mr. Pepin is an inspiration to the Mountain Valley community. His example of dedication to daily fitness demonstrates to students how a balanced workout helps support a long and healthy life.”

According to physical education teacher Todd Papianou, “The fitness room dedication was a thought that arose from years of using Roger as an example to students about the benefits of daily exercise.”

Papianou continued, “He truly demonstrates a dedication to personal fitness. Roger uses a variety of ways to achieve balance in his workouts. One of the main themes of his workouts is constant movement, or what is referred to as Interval Work. Roger combines cardio work walking in between either calisthenics or dumbbell or bench press work.”

This perfect poster boy for physical fitness is 78.

Pepin was surprised at the dedication. That required a lot of work behind the scenes and quite a few “stories.” Debbie Buotte and Peggy LaPointe cooked up a story about needing Pepin’s picture for a new security system for all regular visits. School board member and local businessman Jeff Sterling made a mock-up of the dedication poster, finished the final product and got it to school with only a week’s notice.

Finally, the day of the assembly, Papianou told Pepin that the school was involved in a contest to get as many Red Sox fans in a picture on stage in order to win some tickets.

Pepin, a Red Sox fan for many years, was easily convinced to attend the assembly and was quite surprised by the award. “It was a real team effort and Matt’s support (Matt Gilbert is the MVHS principal) helped make it happen,” Papianou concluded.

Copy the Story Link