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Wesley Chapel Mom To Appear On 'Today'

Photo from Ron Couture

Lisa Couture of Wesley Chapel, right, has been named among the top 15 semifinalists in the America's Favorite Mom competition. Her husband Ron, left, nominated her.

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By MEGAN HUSSEY

Tribune correspondent

Published: May 11, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - Chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 mothers nationwide, Lisa Couture of Wesley Chapel has been named among the top 15 semifinalists in the America's Favorite Mom competition, sponsored by Teleflora.

As one of three moms nominated for the title of COE (Chairman of Everything) Mom (one of five categories in the competition), she will appear between 9 and 10 a.m. today on NBC's "Today" show.

People may vote online for Couture 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today at www.nbc.com/Americas_Favorite_Mom/vote/; if she is selected among the top five finalists, she will appear 7 p.m. Sunday on the NBC special "Teleflora Presents America's Favorite Mom," which will be hosted by and include a performance by Donny and Marie Osmond.

And Couture she wins, she will receive a $250,000 cash prize, a family vacation package to St. Lucia, a diamond pendant, a year's worth of Teleflora flower arrangements, new General Electric kitchen and laundry appliances, and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for a makeover and a shopping spree.

Teleflora's America's Favorite Mom contest, according to the contest Web site, was devised in honor of the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day.

"This will give the TV audience the chance to meet a wide range of wonderful Moms, including the Working Mom, the Single Mom, the Military Mom, the Non-Mom and the COE (Chairman Of Everything) Mom," read the Web site. The contest was for "Moms who make a difference in the lives of their families, communities and the world," the Web site stated.

"Regardless of what happens, this has been an incredible process," said Couture, whose husband Ron nominated her for the America's Favorite Mom competition. The couple has three children, sons Dominic, 7, and Ryan, 5; and daughter Madison, 4. "We're very thrilled and excited. This is cool!"

A bout with roseola and a high fever at 18 months left Couture fighting a lifelong battle with amblyopia, a condition that impairs her vision.

She has been legally blind since 1987. She has walked with a cane since 2004, and is unable to drive. Her peripheral vision also has failed her in recent years; she experiences triple vision and now sees only a limited amount of color, in her left eye.

Despite these obstacles, she takes care of her home and children on her own and helps to care for her father Joe Staney, who is recuperating from a heart attack he suffered in December; he and her mother Corey live nearby in her Meadow Pointe neighborhood.

She earned a master's degree in finance, and belongs to the Meadow Pointe Moms Club and a retreat planning committee at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in New Tampa, where she attends.

In addition, she recently lost 100 pounds and aspires to become a teacher.

"She does everything a mother does and more, multiplied by the fact that she can't see," said Ron Couture in Lisa's nomination video, posted at www.nbc.com. "If you didn't know she was blind, you wouldn't know she was blind."

By advancing so far in a high-profile, national competition, Couture hopes to serve as a role model for other visually challenged moms.

"Some people assume that someone comes in and does all this housework, taking care of kids for me, and that's not the case," she said. "This gives people a chance to see everything I do; to prove that it can be done. You don't have to have your sight to be a great mother."

When Couture got the phone message that she would appear on "Today," she was at a playgroup with her daughter.

"My first reaction was, 'Are you sure?'" she said with a chuckle. "My kids are thrilled, and seeing their reaction is the best part of this."

To see Couture's nomination video and learn more about the favorite mom contest, go to www.nbc.com/ Americas_Favorite_Mom/video/#mea=247538.

In her nomination video, Couture summarizes the true reason behind her involvement in the contest.

"I love being a mom," she said. "I'm the chairman of everything. ... I take care of everything in the household for everybody."

"Sometimes we get a lot of stares. Even though I don't see them, my children do," she said on the video. If I win "I can tell them, 'They're not staring at me because I'm blind. They're staring at me because I'm America's Favorite Mom'."

"Today" will air this morning on WFLA, Channel 8.

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