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The
Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health &
Sports
and the Michigan Fitness Foundation
Top Stories:
Local Business Leaders Come Together for Flint Smart Commute 2009
 Employees from Citizens Bank, Crim Fitness Foundation, Ruth Mott Foundation and The Disability Network commuted more than 1,700 miles by walking, biking, carpooling or taking public transportation for Flint’s 3rd annual Smart Commute Week!
The 2009 Commuter Challenge winner, The Disability Network, succeeded at getting the highest percentage of employees to use people-powered transportation to get to work, meetings, or run workday errands during the week of May 11. In recognition of this year’s winner, a bike rack will be dedicated in their honor and installed in the City of Flint.
As a part of Smart Commute Week, Safe and Active Genesee for Everyone (SAGE) held a free, day-long event at the Crim Fitness Foundation, which included outdoor demonstrations and an information fair that highlighted a variety of commuting options. Attendees experienced how easy it is for people of all ages and abilities to save money, get fit and think green by incorporating alternative transportation into their everyday lives.
For more information, please visit http://www.crim.org/activeliving/smartCommute.
Fourth Grader from Traverse Heights Elementary Wins Healthy Living Essay Contest
Earlier this year, Tyler M. of Traverse Heights Elementary entered an essay contest with ideas on how to be healthy. Tyler was selected out of many applicants from Michigan as the winner. The contest was sponsored by Priority Health, and when they selected Tyler’s essay members of the Priority Health cycling team made a trip to his school where he was presented with a check for $1,000. The money will be used to support physical health and wellness at the school.
When talking about ways to be healthy Tyler said “We could have a time of the day that we do Fit Bits and do more physical activities.” He went on to suggest what teachers could do to be good role models and support children’s health. Ideas such as offer healthy snacks and encouraging more interactive reading lessons were a few that he mentioned.
Fit Bits are 10- to 15-minute activities designed for use by classroom teachers to get students up and moving in the classroom. Each activity also reinforces a personal/social skill (such as best effort and respect for others) or a nutrition message (such as the importance of eating foods from each of the food groups everyday). For more information or to order fit bits click here.
Traverse Heights Elementary is also involved in the PE-Nut program, which stands for physical education and nutrition. The goal of the project is to motivate students, parents and educators to make improvements in health behaviors in a school environment where nutrition and physical activity messages are simple and consistent.
PE-Nut instills educational messages of increasing participation in physical activity; increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and non-fat or low-fat milk or dairy products; trying new foods; choosing healthy snacks; and washing hands before eating.
“The key facet of this program is that it is integrated into many parts of the students’ day,” says Marci Scott, Ph.D., RD, vice president of health programs at the Michigan Fitness Foundation and director of PE-Nut.
Tyler has a strong grasp on elements of the PE-Nut program and ways to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle.
To read Tyler’s full essay click here.
2009 Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run
Lottery is Closed
 On Monday, June 1 runners from across the state were selected from a lottery to participate in the 2009 Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run. The selected participants will be notified by e-mail and U.S. mail. The chance to participate this year has passed, but for those interested in receiving notification when the 2010 lottery opens please e-mail marketingevents@michiganfitness.org with the subject “2010 Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run.”
Eisbrenner Public Relations Competes on National Employee Health and Fitness Day
 Troy, Michigan PR firm Eisbrenner Public Relations shined on National Employee Health and Fitness Day (NEHFD). Celebrated May 20, this office participated in surprise fitness challenges and a walk around their building.
The purpose of NEHFD is to increase awareness of how daily physical activity can be incorporated into your everyday office routine. Simple changes such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or choosing to hand-deliver messages instead of e-mail can result in lower levels of stress and increase overall well-being.
Eisbrenner Public Relations had two group competitions during the day. In the morning, it was a wall-sit competition, and in the afternoon, the plank competition led to a heated battle between the president and an account executive – needless to say, the boss won.
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| Photo above demonstrates employees in a plank competition. |
“Our team lives by five core values – one of them is ‘work hard and have fun.’ For the past two years, National Employee Health and Fitness Day has allowed us to do both at the same time. We are a pretty active bunch – accustomed to sporadic Koosh ball fights and group jogs and walks after work – so it doesn’t take much incentive to get us away from our desks. NEHFD is another way to get our blood flowing and we really enjoy the competition….probably a little too much” said Tom Eisbrenner, president, Eisbrenner Public Relations.
The winners of the fitness competition enjoyed prizes such as CamelBak water bottles from Moosejaw. In addition to the group competitions, a handful of the Eisbrenner PR staff enjoyed a lunchtime walk to celebrate employee health.
For a list of all 2009 participating NEHFD organizations click here.
Labor Day Community Walks
 With a population of nearly 10 million people, about 50,000 join Michigan’s traditional Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Walk each year. If you can’t make it up to Mackinac this year, your community can still help set a new record for the most walkers in one day! We could easily double or triple the number of Michiganders walking on Labor Day if every community hosted their own “virtual bridge walk.” Just as the Mackinac Bridge Walk links the two peninsulas, we can link all communities of Michigan with these walks.
If interested in hosting a Labor Day Community Walk, please fill out this form and we will send you a Labor Day Walk Packet at no charge. The contents of the packet include: a guide to a successful Labor Day Community Walk, a sample press release, a publicity flyer, instructions for customizing the publicity flyer and a CD-ROM (containing the press release and flyer). Furthermore, the Governor’s Council will promote your Labor Day Walk to citizens and the media. We post all Community Walks on our website once registered and will endorse all of your community physical activity events including the Labor Day Community Walk. With the support of Farm Bureau Insurance, the Governor’s Council is able to provide the free packet to help make your community walk a success!
Don’t let your community miss the chance to showcase its commitment to active living by hosting a Labor Day Community Walk. For more information, please visit http://www.michiganfitness.org/LDComBridgeWalk.htm. To see if a walk is being hosted in your community this year, click here.
Bicycling Toward Tax Credit
On top of promoting a healthier lifestyle, helping the environment and saving on fuel, bicycling is offering yet another benefit to the workforce. Employers can now register their business and employees for the bicycle commuter tax provision.
Beginning in taxable years after December 31, 2008 employers can receive $20 per month in tax write-offs for every employee who commutes by bicycle. This will allow employers to reimburse its employees for reasonable expenses such as the purchase of a bicycle, improvements made, and repairs and storage, if the bicycle is regularly used for commuting from home to work.
For more information about the bicycle tax credit, visit the League of American Bicyclists homepage.
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