Mimi Pettersen Hughes, a 45-year-old wife and mother of four, is a resident of Taft, Tennessee. She was born in California and spent her first 18 years in San Bernardino County. Her interest in preserving the environment began at a young age and was sparked by a 1960's commercial which featured a Native-American who wept at the sight of America's littered roadways. i After serving three years in the U.S. Army as a Behavioral Science Specialist, she moved to Alabama to attend college. She met her husband, Forrest Hughes, during her student days at Athens University. After their marriage, the couple moved to Lincoln County, Tennessee, where they've resided for 22 years. i Mimi possesses a Master's degree in Reading, P - 12, and is currently a Reading Specialist at Bob Jones High School in Madison, Alabama. She also teaches test preparation and power reading courses. i Coming from a background of cigarettes, french fries and sodas, Mimi began to take responsibility for her own health while pregnant with her first child. She quit smoking, improved her diet, and after the birth of her fourth child, began running and swimming to model healthy behavior for her children. She eventually deleted the sodas and junk food from her diet with the exception of an occasional (and much enjoyed) order of "extra crisp" french fries. i These lifestyle changes transformed Mimi from a couch potato into a successful triathlete whose resume includes running into (and out of) the Grand Canyon, a successful "escape" from Alcatraz, and a frigid swim across the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia in 1997. The Tennessee Riverswim is her most ambitious project yet.