FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Retirement Community Management Team Members Run to Promote Vitality
CEO and Marketing Director of Garden Spot Village are
Practicing What They Preach
REHOBETH BEACH, Del. - Dec. 7, 2010 - Steve Lindsey and Scott Miller plan
to run 26.2 miles to set a good example. The chief executive officer and
marketing director, respectively, of the Garden Spot Village retirement
community in Lancaster County, Pa., are registered to participate in this
Saturday's Rehobeth Beach Seashore Marathon. It will be the second marathon
for each of them.
"We try to practice what we preach," said Miller. Located in New Holland,
Pa., the community offers several health and wellness programs and provides
a variety of opportunities for staff and residents to stay active,
including a marathon each April.
In addition to serving as marketing director, Miller is also race director
for the Garden Spot Village Marathon. In 2007, he ran his first marathon at
the age of 50 and was inspired to organize a spring marathon himself. The
first Garden Spot Village Marathon was held in April 2009. The 26.2-mile
USA Track & Field (USATF)-certified course begins and ends on the
community's 104-acre campus and winds along country roads through the
scenic farmlands of Lancaster County. The event is believed to be the first
marathon hosted by a retirement community. The marathon is also unique in
that it offers the same cash awards to its 50-plus masters as it does to
its overall winners.
"We feel it is important to encourage adults to remain active regardless of
age, and we want to recognize the athleticism of our 50-plus runners," said
Miller. "We also want to encourage people to get fit, even if they can't
complete a full marathon, so we added a half marathon in 2010." Relay teams
and walkers can also take part.
The 2010 Garden Spot Village Marathon drew an estimated 2,000 runners and
spectators. Participants included relay teams of residents, ages 70 to 85,
who walked the course. The race also entices staff members, including Steve
Lindsey, CEO, for whom the 2010 marathon was a first. Lindsey began running
in 2009, when the community launched 10-in-10, an employee health
initiative that encouraged participants to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks.
The next Garden Spot Village Marathon is scheduled for April 9, 2011.
More than marathons
Running isn't the only health and fitness initiative underway at Garden
Spot Village, which is home to approximately 1,000 people. Last year, the
community implemented the HealthAbility program developed by Sodexo Senior
Services. The program addresses eight dimensions of wellness-physical,
nutritional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, emotional, social and
community-encouraging participants to look at all of those areas of their
life and to focus on specific goals. The program is available free to
residents.
Employees are also encouraged to stay healthy. Garden Spot Village offers
several employee health programs, including a monetary incentive for those
who get annual cholesterol checks.
Next, the community plans to spread the message to a broader audience.
"Extreme sports for the over-50 crowd" is among the workshops planned for
Encore the Festival, a day-long celebration of vitality focused on living
and aging well, which will take place in June 2011 on the retirement
community campus.
For more information about Garden Spot Village, visit
www.gardenspotvillage.org.
For more information about the Garden Spot Village Marathon, visit
www.gardenspotvillagemarathon.org.
For more information about Encore the Festival, visit
www.encorethefestival.org.
About Garden Spot Village
Garden Spot Village is a not-for-profit retirement community in New
Holland, Lancaster County, Pa. Home to all faiths and backgrounds, it is
affiliated with the Lancaster Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church,
the Atlantic Coast Conference of the Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite
Health Services. The community's mission is "to enrich the lives of older
adults as an expression of Christ's love." In 2009, Garden Spot Village was
named to the AAHSA Ziegler 100, an annual listing of the country's 100
largest non-profit senior living organizations.
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