The Arkansas Governor’s Council on Fitness and Baptist Health are planning a party for 10.
Who will be the guests of honor? That is up to you.
Nominations are open for the council’s annual Leadership in Physical Fitness Awards, which recognize people, agencies and businesses that promote health and wellness by getting Arkansans up off the couch. There are 10 awards: corporate, government agency, individual, group, senior citizen, health and fitness club, school or school district, physical educator, trails and built environment to increase physical activity.
Here is how the council defines a winner:
An outstanding individual or organization that demonstrates a commitment to the promotion of physical activity and health.
An outstanding individual or organization that serves as a role model epitomizing personal health and fitness and demonstrating enjoyment of activity and sportsmanship.
Nominations must be submitted on the website arkansasfitness.com and the required documentation received by Aug. 10.
WINNERS
In 2012, the Outstanding Individual was Brett Stone, assistant professor of health and physical education at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville since 2008.
Among his activities, according to the university website, is Recess With a Purpose, a program to ensure children are active during school recess and that they understand nutrition. He also helped build and write grants for a mountain bike trail in Clarksville.
Other award winners were:
Corporate: Verizon Wireless.
Government agency: Little Rock Air Force Base Health and Wellness Center.
Health and fitness club: Heber Springs Community Aquatic Center.
Physical educator: Kristie Jenkins, a PE teacher at Southside Elementary School in Batesville who volunteers on the Independence County Hometown Wellness Coalition and Communities Putting Prevention to Work leadership team. She’s also a member of the Lyon College Athletic Hall of Fame for Basketball and Cross Country as well as the Cave City High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Outstanding group: Independence County Hometown Wellness Coalition.
Trails: City of Conway for the Tucker Creek Trail Project.
Built environment: City of Bryant for pedestrian safety efforts, a Complete Streets policy and the Bishop Park Community Center.
No one won as “outstanding senior citizen,” and there was no “school or school district” winner.
How hard is it to nominate someone? The nominator must complete an online form and supply at least two letters of recommendation.
But according to the council’s news release, the website will not let you revise the form once you’ve begun filling it out. So organizers Gina Marchese Pharis and Linda Kyzer recommend that nominators study the questions they will be asked and compose their answers in a word processing program before they open the application form. Thus they can cut and paste their answers into the proper spaces.
Nominations will be scored on how well the information submitted meets each category’s criteria, according to the release. Evaluators will consider the population affected, breadth of the efforts mentioned and demonstrated outcomes of those efforts.
For example, here are the criteria in the health and fitness club category:
Entries can be private clubs, hospital wellness centers, corporate wellness centers or recreation centers located in the state. The club must have five or more fulltime employees, a nationally certified fitness staff and staff members who have current memberships in a national and/or state professional organization.
The club should advocate for “community and individual physical activity programs that meet the needs of youth, adults, senior citizens, special populations and/or businesses.” And it should sponsor activities to “educate youth, adults, senior citizens and/or special populations” in leading a physically active lifestyle.
The nominator will have to answer these questions online:
How many full-time employees work there?
The staff are nationally certified and do they maintain professional memberships in state or national organizations? (yes or no)
Describe how the fitness center advocates for community physical activity and worksite wellness programs that meet the needs of youth, adults, senior citizens, special populations and/or businesses. (You will only be allowed to type 2,000 characters.)
Describe how the fitness center sponsors activities to educate youth, adults, senior citizens and/or special populations in leading a physically active lifestyle. (2,000 characters or fewer.)
Criteria for the other categories are similar, but not identical. All can be previewed on the website.
It’s OK to nominate yourself, but not year after year: Individuals or organizations that won a category may not apply for that same award for three years.
More information is available from Kyzer via email at [email protected].
ActiveStyle, Pages 23 on 07/22/2013