TYLER (KYTX) - Tyler's Fit City Challenge has now gone global. Recently, two key players behind the Fit City movement presented the program at "The National Association of City and County Health Officials Convention."
"I think the audience saw this as something fairly unique. It's grown into a movement of an entire community and not just a series of stories, but something way beyond that," says Dave Berry, Editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
Dave Berry, Editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph and George Roberts, CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District said when the steering committee kicked off the Fit City Challenge, they had no clue the impact it would have heading into its second year, let alone the national implications.
"I think when we started we hoped we could have an impact, that we could educate people, that we could get info out that would inspire some people to change habits, to make themselves personally fit. I don't think we really thought how big this could become," says Berry.
So much so, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national organization whose mission is to improve the heath of all Americans, took notice. It featured the Fit City Challenge on its website.
That includes sharing our story of the Andy Woods Elementary Roundup Walking Club, the vision of two PE teachers to impress upon their students the importance of fitness; important education for a community trying to take aim at the threat of the obesity epidemic.
"In Smith County right now, roughly 28 percent of our public is considered to be obese, 2/3 are over weight or obese," says George Roberts, CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District.
Texas College is another community trying to make a dent in those numbers with their determination to walk one thousand miles. Even the mayor of Tyler continues to hit the pavement with her constituents, once a month, for her FitWalks.
The Fit City Coalition is also working on a national level with the County by County Health Rankings Group out of the University of Wisconsin; with a webinar now in the works to look at how Tyler fares in the obesity epidemic. They're also meeting with the folks at UT Tyler in hopes of setting up benchmarks to measure the success of the fit city challenge.
The Fit City Challenge continues to gain momentum in its second year. Already in the works: a second annual fit city day in the park on Oct. 1 and a possible Fit City Summit.
Tyler's Fit City Challenge has now gone global. Recently, two key players behind the Fit City movement presented the program at "The National Association of City and County Health Officials Convention."
"I think the audience saw this as something fairly unique. It's grown into a movement of an entire community and not just a series of stories, but something way beyond that," says Dave Berry, Editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
Dave Berry, Editor of the Tyler Morning Telegraph and George Roberts, CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District said when the steering committee kicked off the Fit City Challenge, they had no clue the impact it would have heading into its second year, let alone the national implications.
"I think when we started we hoped we could have an impact, that we could educate people, that we could get info out that would inspire some people to change habits, to make themselves personally fit. I don't think we really thought how big this could become," says Berry.
So much so, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national organization whose mission is to improve the heath of all Americans, took notice. It featured the Fit City Challenge on its website.
That includes sharing our story of the Andy Woods Elementary Roundup Walking Club, the vision of two PE teachers to impress upon their students the importance of fitness; important education for a community trying to take aim at the threat of the obesity epidemic.
"In Smith County right now, roughly 28 percent of our public is considered to be obese, 2/3 are over weight or obese," says George Roberts, CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District.
Texas College is another community trying to make a dent in those numbers with their determination to walk one thousand miles. Even the mayor of Tyler continues to hit the pavement with her constituents, once a month, for her FitWalks.
The Fit City Coalition is also working on a national level with the County by County Health Rankings Group out of the University of Wisconsin; with a webinar now in the works to look at how Tyler fares in the obesity epidemic. They're also meeting with the folks at UT Tyler in hopes of setting up benchmarks to measure the success of the fit city challenge.
The Fit City Challenge continues to gain momentum in its second year. Already in the works: a second annual fit city day in the park on Oct. 1 and a possible Fit City Summit.
