Partnering with the City of Graham to impact health and fitness in the community

I’m proud to have partnered with the City of Graham (N.C.) Recreation and Parks Department on two community initiatives this Fall: Graham Walks, and Fitness First on Saturdays!

Graham Walks

On Thursdays from Sept. 7 to Oct.12, 2017, I joined Aaron Davis, the awesome Recreation and Parks Department Program Supervisor, in downtown Graham to register/check-in people for the Graham Walks Program. This is a self-paced program to help participants average 6,000 steps a day. Aaron and I set up a table downtown across from the courthouse each Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., with a different giveaway prize each week for participants who turned in their log.

At the end, those who met that average and completed their walking log each week received a t-shirt and were entered to win one of five grand prizes provided by the program sponsors.

We had a great participation! Nine million steps were taken. That’s 4,500 miles walked!

As a sponsor of Graham Walks, I was excited to offer one of the grand prizes — a fitness package with me. We drew the winner live on Facebook on Oct. 16! Here’s the video from that:

Fitness First on Saturdays

On Saturdays from Sept. 9-Oct. 21, Aaron and I held Fitness First on Saturdays at the beautiful new Graham Regional Park in Haw River. The purpose of this initiative was to encourage people to get their weekend started with an hour devoted to their health and fitness, and to introduce the public to the new park and all it offers. We were there on-site from 8-9 a.m. to answer questions and help visitors design an outdoor fitness plan at the park.

The Graham Regional Park really is an awesome place! It is fully stocked with both adult and children’s exercise equipment, and there’s a paved walking/running/cycling track. You can make the park your gym, for free!

To enhance this program, I created a guide on my blog with a photo tour of all the adult exercise equipment at the park and directions on how to use them. I provided this along with a special page of resources I created just for Fitness First and Graham Walks participants.

Presenting a walking workshop

On Oct. 5 in downtown Graham during Graham Walks, and on October 7 at the park during Fitness First, I presented a workshop, “How to Walk Off the Weight!” This informal, outdoor talk included a wealth of tips and strategies for success, and an interactive component where they learned and practiced my power walking technique.

I really enjoyed being a part of Graham Walks and Fitness First. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Aaron and the Recreation and Parks Department; to connect with the community; and to promote walking and parks, which I’m passionate about. Thank you to Aaron for including me in these amazing programs.

We’ll be doing Graham Walks again in the spring, and I definitely look forward to it!