By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

BIRMINGHAM–A Helena woman was honored on Thursday, July 30, at the third annual “New Year, New You” reveal party in downtown Birmingham to show off the hard work and dedication Liz Aldridge put toward her personal fitness.

The “New Year, New You” reveal party is hosted by L.I.F.E. Fitness and all the proceeds from the night went towards the Children’s Center for Weight Management at Children’s of Alabama.

Guests at the party enjoyed catered food, music, refreshments and had the opportunity to bid on several silent auction items at the Iron City venue.

The highlight of the night was the reveal of Aldridge, who spent the past six months working and training with L.I.F.E Fitness owner and personal trainer Matt Crane after Aldridge was chosen as the winner of a Facebook contest to receive free personal training sessions with Crane to improve her overall health.

A short documentary film was shown that captured Aldridge’s journey and how she progressed week after week during her training sessions.

“It was extremely difficult to select a winner from so many worthy people,” said Crane. “As you’ll see on the video, Liz Aldridge was meant to be the winner. I believe that with all my heart, and I know that she was picked for a reason and I know that she was brought into my life for a reason. It’s truly an honor to have met her and to of been a part of this journey the past six months.”

“I had great encouragement from my family, my friends, my Facebook family where I’ve gotten so many new friends who have encouraged me and held me accountable,” said Aldridge. “I want to thank Matt of course, Matt was a Godsend to me at this time in my life so I can never be appreciative enough to him. He was such an encourager and such a giver of himself and he knew what I needed and here we are.”

Aldridge was able to shed several pounds during the six months of training and she was greeted with a loud applause from the crowd when she came on stage to show off her transformation.

Aldridge said she feels like she has more energy and feels better than ever now that she has been on an exercise routine.

Aldridge had several family members in attendance, including family members who drove down from Illinois to see her reveal.

For more information on L.I.F.E. Fitness, visit Lifefitnessbham.com