COOKEVILLE, TN — Local father Chad Whitmore-Vance, 41, stood up during Tuesday’s PTO general meeting to ask whether anyone in the room was aware that he does CrossFit.
The question came during the treasurer’s report and appeared to be unprompted. According to meeting minutes, Whitmore-Vance has mentioned CrossFit at every PTO meeting since 2021, including one about head lice, one about the book fair, and one that was a moment of silence.
“I just think people should know, in case it’s relevant,” said Whitmore-Vance, who then demonstrated a strict press using a barbell he had brought from his car. “A lot of the problems we talk about in here could be solved with the right mindset. And the right macros.”
When the conversation turned to the lice outbreak in the first grade, Whitmore-Vance told the group that lice “can’t survive on a body under nine percent body fat.” The school nurse, who was present, confirmed that this is not true and asked him to sit down.
His wife, PTO President Blakely Whitmore-Vance, declined to comment beyond noting that the barbell is “now living in my Range Rover.”
Whitmore-Vance has proposed replacing the Fall Festival bounce house with a “Dad WOD,” a protein bar vending machine in the cafeteria, and a new school motto: “Cougars Don’t Skip Leg Day.” All three proposals are under review by a committee that has never met.