Editor’s note: “Where Are They Now” is a Muscatine Journal series written by former Muscatine Journal editor Gil Dietz, who welcomes comments and suggestions. You can contact him at 563-263-5499 or  gvdietz@earthlink.net

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Muscatine native Ann (Jackson) Drahos is employed as a project manager for Shive-Hattery Inc., an architectural/engineer firm. She is also a fitness enthusiast, a bike rider, and a competitor in a form of bodybuilding for women.

Ann, 58, is the daughter of Ralph and Marilyn Jackson, former long-time Muscatine residents who are now living in Marion, Iowa. Ralph was an engineer with Stanley Consultants Inc., and Marilyn (Lyn) was a successful freelance writer who had articles in The Iowan magazine and other publications.

Drahos’ duties as a project manager for Shive-Hattery involve developing proposals and budgets for projects, negotiating contracts, managing project teams, maintaining client relationships, and managing projects from conception to completion.

Ann graduated from Muscatine High School in 1969. “I wasn’t involved in athletics because Muscatine did not have team sports for girls when I was in high school,” she said.

She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in social work. Prior to her present job, she was a licensed real estate assistant for 12 years, a jewelry store manager for seven years, marketing secretary for a mall management company for two years, and a director of youth employment programs for four years.

She married Don Drahos of Cedar Rapids in June 1975. They are the parents of a son, Damon, and a daughter, Megan. Damon and his wife Liz live in Schaumburg, Ill., where he is a senior pricing analyst in Allstate Insurance’s roadside assistance program. Megan is an attorney in Washington, D.C.

Ann’s hobby is a form of natural bodybuilding called Figure. She has competed in six competitive shows since the start of training in 2005, including two in Cedar Rapids, two in Des Moines and two in Peoria.

She placed first in the masters’ class (over age 40) in the Heart of America show in Peoria in May 2008. The figure category usually has several classes: short, medium, tall, novice and masters.

“I have lost 25 pounds since beginning this training in December 2005. It involves following a Nutri Sports Supplements diet and exercise. The main purpose is replacing body fat with muscle. I would say the program is about 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise. My current weight is around 125 pounds, and 120 or under for competition.

“The goal for competition day is to come in as lean as possible with muscle definition and mass. There are months of cardio, weight training and diet in preparation for a show. You go to the gym and do your workout and you are done for the day; but the diet has to be maintained 24/7 in order for the proper results to occur.

“Several weeks before a show I start to tan. The last week before the show is the hardest. The diet and workouts are altered, and coats of tanning products are applied. Right before we go on stage, the competitors ‘oil up’ with oil spray or tanning oil. The dark tan with oil coating is necessary to enhance the muscle definition under the bright stage lights.”

Ann isn’t training for a show, right now although she maintains a diet and exercise program. “I would love to do more shows, but I would like to find a competition that offers a category for women over 50.

“My upcoming adventure is to ride two days of RAGBRAI with several childhood girlfriends from Muscatine: Peg (Fahy) Heither and Diane (Cooney) Tank.

Ann has one sister, Jennifer. She and her husband, Bruce Peters, live in Eagan, Minn, and have three children.

In addition to her other activities, Ann has been a volunteer and guide at Brucemore, Iowa’s only property in the National Trust for Historic Preservation, since it opened in 1981.