Spirit Lake Selected for Site Visit in Effort to Become a Blue Zones Community
Spirit Lake Blue Zones representatives received word yesterday from Wellmark® Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® and Healthways that they were selected as one of 10 communities in Iowa with populations less than 10,000 to receive site visits. Site visits were recently completed in communities with populations greater than 10,000 last month, one of which was Spencer.
Spirit Lake Blue Zones organizers are anxious to get residents across the Iowa Great Lakes area excited about the visit. “Blue Zones efforts would benefit our entire area, on all levels. It’ll be great for individuals from physical, emotional, and spiritual health, happiness, and longevity perspectives, good for families, neighborhoods, as well as beneficial economically. We are excited to showcase what our entire area is about and why we’d be a perfect choice for a Blue Zones Community,” said Iowa Great Lakes Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Spirit Lake Blue Zones Power 9 Advisory Board member Tom Kuhlman.
Although the specific date of the site visit has not been announced yet, it is expected to occur in June. Kuhlman said, “This gives us time to plan our presentation and get area residents even more supportive of this effort, as well as to keep going strong with our initiatives.”
Spirit Lake Blue Zones representative Jennifer Gustafson said there are many ways in which people can show their support, from displaying yard signs and posters to purchasing Spirit Lake Blue Zones shirts. She said, “We plan to have a community-wide Blue Out and a sort of welcome party the day of the site visit and the more people that attend and wear those shirts and display signs and post messages, the greater our visibility and support will be.”
To become involved with the Spirit Lake Blue Zones effort and site visit:
1. Reserve your poster now - email bluezones@lakeshealth.org or call 336-8799
2. Order your Spirit Lake Blue Zones shirt; go to Spirit Lake Blue Zones on Facebook for order information or email bluezones@lakeshealth.org.
3. Volunteer – interested in setting out yard signs or posters or helping to coordinate the site visit? Call 336-8799 or email bluezones@lakeshealth.org.
4. Like Spirit Lake Blue Zones on Facebook and follow Spirit Lake Blue Zones on Twitter (@SLBlueZones) to learn of information about local activities and ways to adopt Blue Zones Power 9 principles
Many more options to become involved will be provided in the near future.
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