by Jeff Quibell
25. September 2008 15:01
My wife Wanda and I moved to Blue Springs in 1984 because of the great school system. We were expecting our first child and like so many who live here we wanted the best for our children. We didn’t know very many people at the time, but it didn’t take long before that changed. During our time in Blue Springs we have been blessed to get to know so many of our neighbors and their families. Serving on the City Council in recent years caused that number to grow so much that I couldn’t even begin to count the number of people in town I consider to be friends.
Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Blue Springs FIT event. FIT stands for “Families In Training” and is an outreach to our community by the “Renew the Blue” citizen visioning team. Saturday was a great day to get out and quite a few people joined us at Vesper Stadium. There were over fifty booths with information about how to get fit. Everyone had the opportunity to have their Body Mass Index measured so that we can track our progress in becoming the most fit city in the nation.
The event opened with the pledge of allegiance and the playing of America the Beautiful. Mayor Carson Ross welcomed the crowd and offered words of encouragement to everyone. He then challenged the other Mayors of the region to get their cities fit as well. As a Councilman, I always tried to attend every civic function. It was great to see Councilmen Sissy Reed and Kent Edmondson (both of District 2) and Councilmen Jeanie Lauer and Lyle Shaver (both of District 1) in attendance and participating.
Quite a few people were present to give testimonials on their success at losing weight and establishing a healthy lifestyle. Many publicly committed to working together to achieve their own health and weight loss goals. I have committed to losing 100 lbs over the next twelve months through changes in diet and additional exercise.
This can be a difficult task for any of us, but one thing I found at the event was friends who offered their support in a variety of ways, including their offer to walk with me in the mornings. I am convinced this challenge will be easier by working together as a team.
If you missed Saturday’s event, watch www.BlueSpringsFIT.org and my blog site www.AboutBlueSprings.com for information about upcoming opportunities for you and your family to participate in this exciting challenge for our community!