It was a secret until now. How many miles did the participants log in the Moving Starke County Forward walking challenge? Organization member Nancy Dembowski gives us the answer.
“We made 27,426 miles which is around the world to San Francisco overseas to the west and all the way back to Starke County – and a little further,” said Dembowski. “We are just so proud of the people of Starke County. 269 people participated. We truly believe that this initiative has made 269 people healthier today than they were when they started and that’s what it’s all about.”
Sarah Hoshaw with Healthlinc was instrumental in getting this initiative off the ground as Healthlinc provided grant funding to get Moving Starke County Forward going. She told of some interesting statistics that occurred as a result of this walking challenge.
“About 67 percent of the participants who are diabetic logged miles, 65 percent of the participants with high blood pressure logged miles and 70 percent of those who said they wanted to lose weight logged miles. We just think that’s amazing. If we can mobilize anybody who needs to improve their health in some way with those rates, we know that we could make a pretty big difference,” said Hoshaw.
Congratulations to the following award winners:
- Most Miles: Linda Bachert 1,133 miles
- Most Group Miles: Jay Walkers 4,128 miles and 42 members
- Best Group Mile Average: “The Group with No Name” with members Heather Skelly, Kathy Kukula, Jerry Girone, and Crystal Sanders 377.26 avg. mile per participant
- Best in Ages Under 18: Tony Matt 500 miles
- Best in Ages 18-39: Kim Frazier 1,023 miles
- Best in Ages 40-64: Julie Butus 924 miles
- Best in ages 65 and older: Arlene Noble 846 miles
- Most Inspiring: Logan Dorman received the Most Inspiring award, having been diagnosed with a serious cholesterol issue and through this program, he was able to get it under control. Michelle Bachtel and WKVI’s Anita Goodan were also considered as candidates for this award.
Now that the walking challenge is over, the Moving Starke County Forward organization will be focusing on other aspects in getting the county healthy, including tackling the county’s drug issues.
