HOUSTON — David Norec is competing in Verizon's Small Business Super Pitch regional semifinals in Houston. The competition will be held at noon on Monday at BakerRipley Central in East Downtown Houston.

Norec founded Fit-Lit, a company that combines literacy and exercise through interactive children's books. He also created a children's book series titled The Adventures of Exo and Cy. The book series turns reading into an active experience, prompting readers to complete exercises woven into the storyline. Norec and his team are developing "Trail Tale Parks," which place pages of the story along walking trails in parks.

Norec spent 14 years as a teacher before launching Fit-Lit. "When kids are young, that's when you can really get to them," Norec said. "If you can get them to change the way they eat and the way they exercise, they're going to avoid all these problems going forward."

Norec grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes after previously being warned that he was prediabetic. He lost a brother to diabetes in 2013 and a sister to diabetes in 2014. A third sibling who had gone blind due to diabetes passed away last summer. "Before he passed away, he had already undergone an amputation of one of his legs and had trouble with his eyesight," Norec said.