March 9, 2016

Seminole County Healthy Weight Community Champions 

Contact:Tiffani McDaniel
Media Desk: 407-665-3374 (office) and 321-200-7805 (cell)

Sanford, Fla.– The Florida Department of Health is recognizing 80 statewide communities as 2016 Healthy Weight Community Champions for their model practices which affect more than 41 percent of Floridians. The 2016 Healthy Weight Community Champions from Seminole County include the City of Sanford and the City of Oviedo. Their work demonstrates a commitment to keeping Seminole County as one of the top five healthiest counties in Florida.

In observance of National Public Health Week (April 4-10, 2016), the Florida Department of Health in Seminole County (DOH-Seminole) will present city officials with the 2016 Healthy Weight Community Champions Award immediately following the 2^nd Annual Live, Work, Move Seminole 5K on Saturday, April 9, 2016. The 5K and free kid’s 100 meter dash race will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Riverwalk/Fort Mellon Park, 600 East 1^st Street, Sanford, Florida.

"We look forward to recognizing our community champions on a day when the community comes together to celebrate a commitment to better health,” said Venise White, Community Programs Manager for DOH-Seminole.

Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, President of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and Dr. Swannie Jett, Health Officer will present the 2016 Healthy Weight Community Champion Awards.

“We applaud the City of Oviedo and the City of Sanford for leading the way,” said Dr. Swannie Jett, Health Officer for DOH-Seminole. “A person’s physical environment has a lot to do with poor health outcomes, so if more municipalities build healthier physical environments, through a Health In All Policies (HIAP) approach, their citizens will live a lot longer.”

Additional awards and recognition will be given to registered teams with the most participants in the following categories: school with the most students, teachers, administrators and staff; employer with the most employees; faith-based community with the most members; neighborhood community with the most residents; and social, recreation or fraternal group with the most members. 

The Live, Work, Move Seminole 5K was developed to celebrate healthy living.Registration is $25 per person and includes a finisher’s medal, t-shirt and race swag bag. For more information about individual registration, please visit www.SeminoleCoHealth.com. For more information about sponsorship and group registration, please contact Venise White at 407-665-3008 or Venise.White@flhealth.gov.

###