It is hard to believe that summer is already here, a time that finds many of us enjoying outdoor pursuits with family and friends. At the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS), we’ve taken steps to help promote outdoor activities.  President Bush jump started our efforts to do so in May by inviting our Council members to join him and Secretary Leavitt on a mountain bike ride at the Secret Service Training Facility in Beltsville, Maryland.  The President definitely demonstrated that he is extremely fit.  He challenged us to keep up, and it wasn’t an easy challenge to meet.  To listen to the President's remarks, please visit this link. View a photo from the event here.

We followed President Bush’s lead by launching the President’s Great Outdoors Challenge. This addition to the President’s Challenge program makes it easy to log and track outdoor activities.  I hope you’ll use this as a means or reminder to engage a child in your life in some type of outdoor activity.  We are working with the federal land management agencies to promote more outdoor activity among people of all ages, with a strong focus on children.  As we have learned from our colleagues working in public lands management and the recreation fields, this work is important to ensuring we have a future generation of children who care about our public lands and the survival of these natural habitats.  Can you imagine if you didn’t have access to a favorite park, forest, nature trail, river, or pond because it is no longer there or because it isn’t clean enough for you to enjoy safely? 

Council member Dr. Ed Laskowski shares some of his insights on outdoor activity and other important issues including the role of strength and stability training. We know the majority of Americans are not active enough to improve their health let alone working to develop core strength and stability.  The development of these attributes early in life and the maintenance of them as we age is especially important for preventing falls and the conditions that may arise from those falls. 

We have been working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Council on Aging, and other organizations on the EPA’s Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging initiative. One result of this work is the development of a new awards program administered by the EPA. The awards will recognize communities that work together to incorporate smart growth and active aging principles.

The Department’s efforts to ensure healthy aging through prevention continue with a cross-country bus tour hosted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  The tour is part of the HHS initiative, A Healthier US Starts Here. I’ve had the privilege of attending some of the events held in conjunction with tour stops in select cities. Check the calendar to see if the tour is making a stop in your hometown and come check it out. (PDF file)

All my best,

Melissa Johnson, M.S.
Executive Director