Steps: 2007 Steps Community Heroes Recipients

The Steps Community Heroes award acknowledges local heroes who volunteer their time, talents, and expertise to make their communities a healthier place to live. View the video clip of Dr. Alyssa Easton, Steps Program Director, describing in her own words what makes someone a Steps Hero. Read transcript (PDF-53KB).

Rev. Ken Feske
First Baptist Church (former pastor)
Seaside, California
Nominated by Steps to a Healthier Salinas

View the video clip of Rev. Ken Feske describing his community-based projects in Salinas, CA. Read transcript (PDF-61KB).

Rev. Ken Feske exemplifies the principles of the Steps Program. Understanding that prevention happens on many levels, Rev. Feske has worked extensively to influence local policies, change organizational practices, and foster the development of coalitions and networks that support healthier communities. He promoted healthy lifestyles and communities before the establishment of the Steps Program. While pastoring a 300-member congregation, Rev. Feske was the first local faith-based leader to institute a wellness policy at his church. His work enabled the Steps Program to subcontract with parish nurses to continue implementing policies that focus on healthy foods and beverages and physical activity.

Rev. Feske wears multiple hats in his community. He’s been a staunch supporter of Steps since the program was funded in 2003 and serves as a co-chair of the Council for a Healthier Salinas. He also is the project manager of the Soledad Street Revitalization Project. Always cognizant of the importance of making his community safer and healthier, Rev. Feske has identified infrastructure improvements as a project priority. He understands that walkable communities enhance and preserve the quality of life in neighborhoods, and he aims to demonstrate how the success in this community can be replicated in other communities throughout Monterey County. Rev. Feske’s commitment to improving the health and well-being of all residents has greatly enhanced Steps activities in Monterey County and earned him the respect of residents and community leaders.

Bruce and Brenda Hendricks
Cherry Creek Business and Community Association
Cherry Creek, New York
Nominated by Steps to a HealthierNY–Chautauqua County

View the video clip of the Hendricks describing their efforts to make their community more walkable. Read transcript (PDF-56KB).

Bruce and Brenda Hendricks are lifelong community and health proponents that have worked tirelessly to establish permanent environmental changes to make their community a healthier place to live. As members of the Cherry Creek Business and Community Association, the couple successfully secured funding to build a walking path in a local park. A requirement for the funding was forming a walking program with at least 15 members. Initially the Hendricks thought they would be able to recruit about 15 members. Driven to succeed, the couple quickly recruited nearly 150 participants who have logged more than 34 million steps to date.

To mix fun and physical activity, the walking group maps out the mileage from their town to other Cherry Creek named communities around the country and walks the distance. To date, the group has logged more than 34 million steps.

As the state was developing a new highway in 2000, Bruce, a village board member, successfully pushed for the incorporation of walking trails to ensure Cherry Creek remain a model walkable community. Thanks to the Hendricks’ dedication and vision for sustainability, local residents will be able to walk safely and enjoy the walking trails in their community for years to come.

Rob Moffat
Council of Smaller Enterprises
Cleveland, Ohio
Nominated by Steps to a Healthier Cleveland

View the video clip of Rob Moffat describing his efforts to build support for worksite health promotion. Read transcript (PDF-56KB).

A committed and dedicated supporter, Mr. Moffat pushes employee wellness to the forefront in Cleveland’s small and mid-sized business community. Mr. Moffat brings a unique perspective that complements the public health focus of the Steps Program. By promoting the business case for work site wellness programs, he helps move the Steps program’s Healthy Cleveland Business Council to new territory and higher ambitions. As a representative of the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE), Mr. Moffat advocates for work site wellness to be a core value of COSE, the small business division of the Greater Cleveland Partnership that supports hundreds of companies throughout the city.

Mr. Moffat is influential in developing several Steps projects, including a work site wellness tool kit that shows companies how to build effective wellness programs. Most recently, he helped plan the first Steps Healthy Cleveland Business Council Challenge — a summer walking program that will benefit local businesses and their employees. Mr. Moffat’s connection to COSE provides the Steps Program with a critical link to the business community that helps the program expand its reach, and improve employee health.

Marcella Morton
Healthy Nation Program
Westville, Oklahoma
Nominated by Steps to a Healthier Cherokee Nation

View the video clip of Marcella Morton describing her inspiring personal journey to live a healthier lifestyle. Read transcript (PDF-80KB).

Marcella Morton uses her personal experiences with weight and exercise to encourage others to support Steps activities and to live healthy, active lives. Throughout the span of the Steps Program, her supportive role has helped raise the profile of Steps activities and transform the lives of many American Indians in her community.

A member of the Steps Wings Program since 2002, Ms. Morton voluntarily recruits community members to attend Steps-sponsored events. She sets an example for others in the community by running regularly for exercise and by participating in road races sponsored by the Cherokee Nation, as well as in marathons held around the country.

Well-known and respected in her community, Ms. Morton is always willing to go “above and beyond” for the Steps Program. She eagerly volunteered her time, talents, and skills at a Wings Fitness Expo event in 2006. She taught yoga classes and participated on the Wellness Panel where she recounted her personal story of losing about 60 pounds through good nutrition and regular exercise — including continuing to jog after a physical injury required her to wear braces on both knees.

A retired school teacher, Ms. Morton has a passion for educating others on how they can live a healthy life through achieving their fullest potential. She often tells her story of qualifying for, and later running, the Boston Marathon to show others that they also can become physically active, even if they have led a sedentary lifestyle.

Florence “Flossie” Wager
Vancouver Parks and Recreation
Vancouver, Washington
Nominated by Steps to a HealthierWA–Clark County

View the video clip of Kristine Perry paying tribute to Florence "Flossie" Wager. Read transcript (PDF-54KB).

Florence Wager has been an active member of several Steps community teams since the program formed 4 years ago. As a member of the Vancouver Parks Commission, Ms. Wager actively advocated for local parks and trail developments that included an abundance of open space for walking and physical activity. She was instrumental in passing a referendum that provided funding for 35 parks that will be built in Clark County during the next 10 years.

A forward-thinker with a passion for health, Ms. Wager pushed for healthy communities long before the Steps Program was established. Prior to 2003, she approached the local Community Choices organization about “doing something” about the county’s obesity problem. Determined to be a part of the solution, the 79-year-old provided the organization local statistics on the burden of obesity and a rationale for addressing the issue. Ms. Wager has been invaluable in supporting the Steps Program and in garnering local community support for Steps activities.

In The News:
Woman's Steps Amount to Large Leap in Health (http://www.columbian.com/links/6052007Health.cfm) The Columbian

Alan Wilmarth
Broome County Walks Program
Resident of Hallstead, Pennsylvania
Nominated by Steps to a HealthierNY–Broome County

View the video clip of Alan Wilmarth describing how he accomplished living an active life. Read transcript (PDF-56KB).

Affectionately known in Broome County (B.C.) as “Wilmarth,” Alan Wilmarth is the “poster boy” for a walking program called B.C. Walks. He has played an integral role in inspiring more than 50,000 local residents to join the walking program. Mr. Wilmarth, who commutes daily to Broome County for his job in mental health services, has generously provided more than 200 hours of volunteer service to the Steps Program by participating in walks, media events, and as a guest presenter at Steps-related programs. His walks are featured in the Steps Program’s widely recognized “Where’s Wilmarth Walking?” series that is broadcast weekly as part of the local TV news. The series promotes B.C. Walks, showcasing Mr. Wilmarth walking throughout the county. He leads walks with residents and community leaders at schools, work sites, parks, churches, and neighborhoods, including walks with all 19 Broome County Legislators.

Since enrolling in B.C. Walks in 2003, Mr. Wilmarth has walked for exercise every day and lost 60 pounds! Based on Broome County’s recent behavioral risk factor studies, in just one year, the percentage of residents who walked for 30 minutes or more, 5 days a week, increased from 53% to 61%. Mr. Wilmarth’s popularity and visibility undoubtedly contributed to this public health success. As an unofficial ambassador for the Steps Program, Mr. Wilmarth is an invaluable force helping to increase walking in Broome County and motivating others to improve their health.

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2007 STEPS COMMUNITY HEROES AWARDS AWARD WINNERS

2007 STEPS COMMUNITY HEROES AWARDS
AWARD WINNERS