LiveWell Chaffee County, with support from the Town of Buena Vista, City of Salida, and Safe Routes To School, is pleased to update you on walking and biking improvements to Chaffee County. In conjunction with National Bike To School Day on May 9 a map highlighting the safe routes to school has been printed and distributed to encourage students to not only bike on this day, but to create a healthy transportation habit that will last in their adult years. Safe Routes To School is a national organization that promotes evidence-based walking and biking to school programs. Their most common programs are route signage, crosswalk improvements, walking school buses, traffic flow at drop off areas, and bike trains.

En route to work, stop by any or all of the following locations for support:

• Absolute Bikes (330 West Sackett, Salida) will offer free coffee, snacks and prizes and will also provide complimentary safety checks, mechanical expertise, helmet fit advice and other bicycle safety information
• The Hot Springs Aquatic Center (410 West HWY 50, Salida) will offer free coffee, snacks and prizes
• The Buena Vista Roastery (409 East Main, Buena Vista) will host mechanics from The Trailhead who are teaming up to offer free coffee, snacks and prizes and provide complimentary safety checks, mechanical expertise, helmet fit advice and other bicycle safety information

We are so pleased to have educated, concerned and supportive sponsors like these to help you safely and comfortably ride your bike to work!

Remember to follow the rules of the road; for a refresher, visit The League of American Bicyclists Rules of the Road page.

While this list of super foods may be longer than most, it shows that great things really do come in small packages. From broccoli to black olives, garlic to grapes, these foods are not only healthy, but they’re also affordable, familiar, and readily available at regular grocery stores, resturants and farmers markets. With so many choices, you’ll discover just how easy it is to eat super healthy every day, even when you find yourself on a tight budget.

Thanks to the original author, Becky Hand. Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. Through her company, An Ounce of Prevention, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy to apply and fun.

Season Tickets are also available! $60.00 gets you 7 bouts of roller derby action. There is a limited number available.

Beer and food will be available for purchase.

Join the High Roller at their afterparty at Currents with DJ Resinate!

• Baby boomers (the large demographic group born between 1946 and 1964) reaching the age where more health problems surface.

• Exciting but costly medical breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

• The dramatic increase in preventable chronic diseases related to behaviors such as tobacco use, excessive use of alcohol, lack of physical activity and consumption of high calorie/high sodium foods at the expense of more nutritious choices.

Employers can’t control the march through time of aging baby boomers or the progress of medical science, but an increasing number of companies are successfully addressing preventable health-care costs through worksite wellness programs. Companies that have implemented comprehensive wellness programs have benefited from lower disability costs and absenteeism, as well as improved employee productivity and presenteeism.

The Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) and your local LiveWell Chaffee County Coalition recommends “10 Essential Things Small Businesses Can Do To Promote Better Health”:

1. Show visible support from company administration. If employees see leaders of their organization support wellness in both words and actions, this sets a tone regarding the importance of the initiative.

2. Designate a wellness leader. * Although this is often a duty of human resources, any employee with a passion for health promotion can work with human resources to plan and implement a program.

3. Conduct an initial survey to discover employee needs and interests. * One size does not fit all. Respecting the diversity of employee interests allows them to find their personal path to wellness.

4. Support opportunities for employee health screenings. Screenings with follow-up guidance help employees understand the risks related to biometrics such as blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index (BMI), and how lifestyle change can reduce risks.  Employees found to be at high risk can be alerted to seek immediate medical interventions to mitigate the risk of a major health event.

5. Conduct physical activity challenges and campaigns. * Walking, weight loss and other company-sponsored events can help motivate employees to start on the road to better health.

6. Hold Lunch and Learns. * These educational opportunities provide guidance related to healthy eating, active living and stress management.

7. Create a wellness library. A selection of DVDs, books and magazines with sound advice on healthy living gives employees the background information to make good choices.

8. Disseminate a quarterly newsletter. This is often the only opportunity to reach employees who are not yet ready to change unhealthy behaviors. Keeping the newsletter brief increases the odds that it will be read.

9. Implement policies to encourage healthy behaviors. Changes such as tobacco-free campuses and company vehicles, and healthy snack choices in vending machines and at meetings, send a message promoting a healthy corporate culture.

10. Support community health efforts. * Employers are a part of the local community. Supporting community efforts to promote healthy environments and cultural norms ultimately reinforces the wellness efforts of employers.

LiveWell Chaffee County has supported many local businesses with a worksite wellness plan, including finding grant and funding opportunities to improve the current status of the workplace, helping organize and promote challenges and consulting on healthier food options. Kimberly Burgess-Anderson of High Country Bank knows first hand that LiveWell Chaffee County can and will change the atmosphere of a worksite in terms of wellness, activity and camaraderie.

With help from LiveWell Chaffee County, the Bank employees completed a 12-week Eat Right for Life Challenge, wherein they were challenged to gradually set goals that improved their diets, tracking their progress and were eligible for prizes when nutrition goals were achieved. Guidebooks were distributed to help the employees when they found themselves quizzical about fats, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, proteins and tips in avoiding sugary beverages. Dr. Ann G. Kulze, MD, a family physician and nutritionist designed the program. Kim says, “Overall the Eat Right for Life nutrition program taught us how to live a healthy lifestyle by eating right at home and the office.” In an effort to support the employees, the Bank removed the sugary drinks from the vending machines and supplied them with juices and flavored waters.

Once the nutrition campaign ended, the focus shifted to fitness. Employees met weekly for an exercise class led by Helen Wasler, an instructor at The Pilates Studio and Exer Flex.  Having the cost of the class covered by the employer buy-in and a LiveWell grant, the employees were motivated and excited about working out with coworkers. Kim says, “Since we have been participating with LiveWell, High Country Bank employees are more in tune to making healthy choices and are motivated to be and stay active. Once a month we talk about wellness at our employee meetings to keep people informed and motivated!”

* LiveWell Chaffee County is here to assist in your worksite wellness efforts. Please contact Lisa Malde, LWCC Director, or Jon Fritz, LWCC Worksite Wellness Coordinator, for more information.

Lisa Malde: lmalde@chaffeecounty.org

Jon Fritz: livewellstrategycoordinator@gmail.com

Included in this article is information from Employee Benefit News, WELCOA and the New York State Department of Health

Thanks, also, to Don Breece: a health educator who assists Chaffee County with their Worksite Wellness program and is also a member of the LiveWell Chaffee County Coalition.

$10 will get you drink specials, an AVHR pint glass and prizes all night as we strap on our knee pads and pub crawl around Salida!

Catch us at any of the places below and have a drink with a Roller Girl

6:00pm — Hattie’s Tavern

7:00pm — Victoria Tavern Free Moonlight Pizza while it lasts!

7:45pm — Boathouse Cantina

8:30pm — Benson’s Tavern

9:15pm — Currents With DJ Resinate

All proceeds benefit the Ark Valley High Rollers and help keep roller derby in Chaffee County!

{please note: This interview was conducted & this article was composed by Sydney Schalit. Lisa does not speak in the third person.}

Accountability counts when it comes to LiveWell and our local chapter’s director, Lisa Malde, keeps herself, her family and her community’s best interest in mind, on and off the clock.

Her crusade for healthy eating and active living started, as so many stories do, at home. The juxtaposition of her ‘sweet-tooth’ dad and ‘health nut’ mom, who encouraged their children to play sports, be outside and enjoy a life worth living, made for an interesting childhood. From hiking to lacrosse, biking to soccer, Lisa did it all as a child; yet, some of her fondest memories were at the dinner table.

“We always ate together, whether my sister and I had to eat quickly in order to run out the door to our many after-school activities or my parents prepared a balanced meal for us, family time was dinner time and that prepared us for healthy lives.”

So, how did this all-American, small-town gal from the Pacific Northwest become so conscious about the difference a healthy lifestyle can make? With the firsthand knowledge of a healthy balance in activity, education, healthy eating and family time. Not long before her role with LiveWell Chaffee County, she watched (and recommends) the documentary films Food Inc., The Future of Food and King Corn. So moved and educated by the information presented, Lisa has since not had any processed foods in her home. Beginning her career with LiveWell, a nonprofit organization committed to reducing obesity in Colorado by promoting healthy eating and active living, shortly after exiling junk foods from her cupboards, has provided Lisa with the tools to give Chaffee County citizens access to concepts, professionals, grants and information necessary. In addition to educating and inspiring people to make healthy choices, Lisa and her LiveWell team focus on policy, environmental and lifestyle changes that remove barriers and increase access to healthy behaviors. Working in partnership with obesity prevention initiatives across the state, LiveWell aims to provide every Coloradan with access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity in the places they live, work, learn and play.

Lisa knows the great or grave impact dietary habits and physical activity can have on the health and well being of an entire community. Whether hiking or biking, planning easier access to sidewalks or organizing team try-outs, Lisa knows that she feels better and works harder when she eats well and keeps herself fit. After only three years in Salida, Lisa has served on the Planning Commission and plays an essential part in the development of health-centric improvements around the county including the Hoop House built at Buena Vista’s Avery-Parsons School to enable the Food Service Department to grow, sustain and serve fresh, on-site vegetables for use in the cafeteria’s salad bar and sauces. She is also an integral participant in the proposed Salida School District Garden to Cafeteria project, which would provide schoolchildren with fresh vegetables and fruits. Click here to listen to Lisa discuss the Garden-to-Cafeteria project on KHEN’s Local Motion radio show; find her interview starting at minute 49:30.

As the co-founder of our very own Ark-Valley High Rollers, proactive about healthy eating, active living and your children’s future, we are proud to announce that Lisa will be a guest speaker/panelist at the third annual Healthy Schools Summit on April 4th, in Denver. This summit will bring together more than 600 education and health leaders from across the state to share information and raise awareness on best practices in school health and wellness and the effective implementation of local and state school wellness policy.

Stay tuned to local news and events as LiveWell Chaffee County and Lisa Malde continue to make great strides towards health and wellness for us all.

{Interview & Article by Sydney Schalit}

After securing a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant from the Colorado Department of Education, and passing a bond issue that provided the matching funds required by the grant, Salida School District began developing plans to replace the current Salida High School with an updated building.

Public input was an important element in the planning process. When the school asked for volunteers to sit on school planning committees, LiveWell Chaffee County jumped at the chance to participate in the food service planning team. Sally Ayotte, a registered dietitian, participant in the Cook for America® program, former executive chef for the U.S. Antarctic Program and LiveWell Chaffee County coalition member, volunteered to represent the coalition on the committee.

This planning process was not LiveWell Chaffee County’s first experience with Salida High School. As a trainer in one of LiveWell Colorado’s Cook for America® Culinary Boot Camps, coalition member Ayotte worked closely with the high school’s nutrition director, who participated in a 2011 camp. In addition, LiveWell Chaffee County sent the nutrition director to a farm-to-school training course in 2011.

These two trainings were the impetus for a series of healthy changes in Salida High School’s cafeteria. The school district is now in the process of establishing a garden to cafeteria program, and will transition two to three acres of the new school’s property into a school garden. Salad bars have already become a fixture in the school cafeteria.

These changes will continue in a healthful direction as the new high school takes shape. Ayotte’s input in food service planning has led to a school kitchen plan that facilitates cooking from scratch and promotes fresh food consumption. The new school kitchen will have the equipment and the space to process produce directly from the school garden.

Malde attributes LiveWell Chaffee County’s successful partnership with Salida High School to the coalition’s work to build trust between the two groups.

“We were a new player in the community when the conversation started. We had to build that trust and understanding,” Malde explains. “We took the time to understand the challenges and constraints the school nutrition director had and we continue to collaborate with her.”

TBD Colorado will hold regional meetings to provide opportunities for face-to-face conversation. This means their size is limited and not everyone who nominates themselves will be able to attend.  Please keep in mind you may be able to attend the meetings as an observer on a space available basis. You can also download materials from the website to sponsor a meeting yourself in your own community, and to participate in the online dialogue which will begin in the coming months. If you should have any questions or need clarification on meeting details, please either email info@tbdcolorado.org or call 877-644-7110.

It looks like there are meetings being held in Buena Vista on March 12th, April 9th and May 14th.  It would be great to have some solid Chaffee County representation in this process!

-Lisa

Sally realized one day, early on in her 12-year tenure, that everyone in Antarctica was “in the same boat and that [she] had the unique opportunity to make people happy with healthy meals.” Warmly know throughout the U.S. Base as “Sally in the Galley,” she quickly became well aware that mealtime was often the highlight of the day for those who live and work in Antarctica’s barren, frozen landscape and that the cafeteria acted as the “emotional epicenter on the continent.” Since most of the food is shipped in once a year after an icebreaker clears the way, many of the ingredients are frozen, canned or dried. Hurdles like these did not stop Sally and the other chefs from creating healthy recipes from magazines such as Gourmet and Martha Stewart to keep the clientele happy.

Sally, now a full time resident of Salida, is not only the head of LiveWell Chaffee County’ Healthy Foods Work Group, but is also a certified trainer at Culinary Boot Camps for School Food Services and volunteers for LiveWell doing cooking demonstrations and nutrition education. Maintaining a busy schedule allows Sally to have the unique opportunity to get involved with helping locals achieve a healthy eating and active lifestyle resulting in a happy life. Sally said that she feels lucky to be “able to share my passion and empower people to want to live a healthy lifestyle by making informed choices about what they eat and how to cook delicious food in any climate or condition.”

Sally Ayotte is a Registered Dietitian who loves to cook, eat, educate and ski. She enjoys working with the schools of Chaffee County to help them implement change in the foods they prepare and serve.  Empowering school lunch workers and watching them evolve into agents of change for their schools is a very rewarding highlight to Sally’s work. Although changes can be difficult to implement the cafeterias and kitchens here in Colorado are very similar to those in Antarctica as the foods served can make or break a day. LiveWell Chaffee County, along with Salida and Buena Vista School Districts, are teaming up with local fresh food providers to better the lives of our children and residents. Stay tuned to LiveWell’s updates as the Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) initiative is further implemented in our great communities.

After 12 years of preparing healthy, happy food, three times a day, in frigid, barren landscapes on the bottom of the world, Sally knows that the right type of foods can and will brighten your day – even when the sun wont.

Special Thanks to NPR’s Daniel Zwerdling who visited Sally and the US Navy Base in Antarctica in 2008 to report on healthy foods as a morale booster for Weekend Edition. Photos courtesy of Peter Breslow of NPR.

The High Rollers 2012 season bouts supported the Emily Wilson foundation, Chaffee County Mentors, Chaffee People’s Clinic, and The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chaffee County.

In addition to financial donations to the community, the women’s roller derby league has donated their time and energy to organizations such as Chaffee County Habitat for Humanity “That’s how we roll” painting party, Chocolate Lover’s Fantasy fundraiser for The Alliance Against Domestic Abuse, collecting school supplies for local schools and has made many guest appearances within the valley.

“I’m extremely proud to be a member of The Ark Valley High Rollers,” said Natalie “Natty Dread” Moore. “We’re a very tight-knit family.  In addition to taking care of each other, it’s important for us to take care of others by helping the community.”  Part of the AVHR mission is to empower and inspire women by demonstrating physical and mental strength both on and off the track, and by providing positive athletic role models to our community.

If you are interested in being a charity of choice for one of the six home bouts this year please visit http://arkvalleyhighrollers.com/community/community-partners/ The High Rollers ask that you fill out a brief questionnaire about your organization.  All applications for 2012 should be submitted no later than March 1, 2012. If a cancellation or opening for community partnership occurs during the year, applications will be reviewed after the March deadline.  Appropriate AVHR committee members will review applications and a decision will be provided two weeks before the scheduled bout.