Mayors Wellness Campaign Shines at Annual League of Municipalities Conference

West Trenton, New Jersey – Melissa Kostinas, Director of the Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC), announced today that Pequannock has won a $1,000 wellness grant from the MWC.

Each November, during the annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City, the Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) enters all participating towns into a drawing for a $1,000 Wellness Grant to help with their Mayors Wellness Campaign activities.

“We are thrilled to receive the $1,000 wellness grant from the Mayors Wellness Campaign,” said Pequannock Mayor Richard Phelan. “We will use the grant to jump-start a wellness program in our town that will benefit all our citizens.”

“We are delighted to award Pequannock and Mayor Phelan our annual $1,000 Wellness Grant,” said Kostinas. “We couldn’t be happier with the efforts of mayors to promote active living and healthy lifestyles through the Mayors Wellness Campaign and are hopeful this grant will help Pequannock on the road towards healthy living.”

Twenty additional towns joined the statewide Mayors Wellness Campaign during the recent League conference, bringing the total of participating municipalities to 326. Each town designs their own local campaign around their individual needs.

The MWC panel session during the League conference featured Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis, Parsippany-Troy Hills Mayor James Barberio, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, Chatham Borough Councilwoman Victoria Fife, and MWC Spokesperson former Governor Jim Florio.

In addition, the newest Spokesperson for the Mayors Wellness Campaign, 4-time New Jersey Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs, was honored at a reception.

Joetta was on the U.S. Olympic teams in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000 and was America’s premier middle distance runner for over three decades. She is considered by track enthusiasts as the most prolific 800-meter runner of all time and ranked among the top 10 in America for over 20 years. Additionally, she ranked top 10 in the world nine times. While the 2000 season was her last running track, Joetta has continued to make a difference in the world of track and field.

Today, she is the author of “Joetta’s “P” Principles for Success: “Life Lessons Learned from Track & Field” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYDs_fH3xEA); President of Joetta Sports & Beyond (www.joettasportsandbeyond.com); and Executive Director of the Joetta Clark Diggs Sports Foundation (www.joettasportsandbeyond.com/foundation).

Joetta spends her time delivering high-energy motivational seminars to athletic programs, businesses, and other organizations across the country. She also works diligently raising funds to provide free fitness, track and field camps and life skills programs for children throughout the country. She is the daughter of Jetta Clark and noted educator, Dr. Joe Clark, the subject of the movie “Lean on Me.”

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Joetta was inducted into the University of Tennessee’s Hall of Fame in 2001 and more recently, the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2009. To view the video about her amazing athletic career, go to www.philippaluso.com/HOF09/ and click on “Clark Diggs.”

The Mayors Wellness Campaign (www.mayorswellnesscampaign.org) is an initiative of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (www.njhcqi.org) in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (www.njslom.org). The mission of the Mayors Wellness Campaign is to equip mayors and other key leaders with the tools to develop and implement active-living initiatives in their communities with the ultimate goal of improving health and reducing the skyrocketing health care costs that come with the obesity problem in New Jersey. Currently, more than half of the New Jersey’s 566 municipalities are participating in the campaign and are working aggressively to decrease obesity rates and increase the overall health of their communities. Major funding for the Mayors Wellness Campaign is provided by The Walmart Foundation. Additional funding for the conference was provided by Partners in Care and Aetna.

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