Fitness initiative announced by Crim Fitness Foundation

By Lisa Paine
VIEW Sports Editor

GENESEE TWP. — The scenic shore of Bluebell Beach in Genesee Township was the backdrop as the Crim Fitness Foundation and the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission announced a new county-wide fitness program last Thursday.

The Do What Moves You! campaign was introduced by Gerry Myers, CEO of the Crim Fitness Foundation, Amy McMillan, director of Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission, Stan Blood, marketing director of the Genesee County Regional Chamber of Commerce, and special guest speaker Bobby Crim, Crim Fitness Foundation founder. The initiative has one goal — to get people up and moving.

“The Crim and the parks have always been about keeping people active. Today the Crim’s programming promotes physical activity year ‘round for young people and adults alike,” Myers said. “The Crim continues to attract record numbers of walkers, and the Crim youth program serves over 10,000 youth in Genesee County.”

“In fact, we were recently recognized as the Fitness Program of the Year nationwide, and Nike was second, which is pretty remarkable,” Myers added. “Our Crim Fit Adult program continues to host the largest training program in the nation, with 15,000 annually. What we do know is that although our efforts have been significant, we need to do more. Not everyone is a runner or walker, and it’s not necessary for someone to become a runner to become healthy. What is necessary is that people simply need to get active.”

Myers noted however, that the obesity epidemic continues to lead to lack of physical activity, and coupled with an aging population and extended use of automobiles, people are just not as active as they once were.

The Do What Moves You! campaign is part of the Crim Health Promotion and Achievement initiative funded in part by the Ruth Mott Foundation. “It is designed to promote physical activity of all kinds, with community partnerships committed to help your children help your families and help your community,” Myers continued. “We are extremely fortunate that as we reach out and ask people to get active that we have some of the most beautiful natural resources to help people get active in — our county park system.”

“It was obvious from my conversation with Amy McMillan, that she shared the same vision as did the Crim. Since that time we have strategized administratively and shared marketing material in this public outreach and education initiative. We need to get people thinking about getting active and giving them a place to be active place in — Genesee County parks.”

“We the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Crim Fitness Foundation believe that not only do we have the opportunity to make Genesee County a Center of Excellence, but Genesee County is already in many ways an untapped Center for Excellence for a model,” McMillan said. “We have the largest county parks in the state. We have unmatched natural resources, we have the largest training program for any race in the entire United States that is going to be 32 years old this summer. It’s just an amazing resource for any community and certainly for Genesee County.”

Crim added, “I am so excited about what is happening, the bringing together of the Crim leadership, the GCPRC board and members to help Genesee County become a more healthy community. We just need to get more people out using them.”

Crim stressed that it doesn’t matter what people do to get moving. “Run, walk, bike, canoe. What do you want to do? Do whatever turns you on, whatever feels good for you,” he said. “All I can say is thank you for making it possible for us to become a much healthier community. Let’s take advantage of it!”

New colorful billboards and public service announcements urging people to do just that were unveiled and were being put into place earlier this week throughout Genesee County.