The annual Concord University Wellness Fair was held on Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Taking place in the Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center in the ballroom, the event hosted a total of 206 people.
CU Wellness Committee member and Wellness Fair organizer, Dr. Jill Nolan said, ‘‘Southern WV gets a lot of bad press for poor health outcomes, but what I saw at the wellness fair was over 200 people making efforts to be healthier as individuals and as a community. That is very impressive.’’
A total of 22 vendors set up to share their health and wellness with students, faculty, staff, and the community. These vendors included: the CU Food Pantry, the Mercer County Health Department, Core Organ Donations, Bland County Medical Center, CU Against Tobacco, Death by CrossFit, Mercer Rape Crisis Center, CU Intramurals and Fitness, to name a few.
The Mercer County Health Department was on hand to administer flu shots, just in time for flu season. A total of 68 flu shots were given during the event.
A new addition to this year’s event was a series of four mini classes in various group fitness activities.
These mini classes were yoga with Jeri Elmore, CrossFit with Death by CrossFit, martial arts with USA Martial Arts, and Zumba with Brickhouse Cardio Club. Attendees were encouraged to join an instructor for a 10-minute session of each activity in the middle of the wellness fair.
Dr. Nolan said, ‘‘The mini classes were probably my favorite part of the wellness fair this year. We had at least 28 students participate in the classes and several students attended more than one.’’ She also added that, ‘‘I know Brickhouse Cardio Club and Death by Crossfit have special student promotions, so my hope is that students who are exposed to these classes will be encouraged to see what physical activity options are available through these organizations.’’ For students looking for on campus fitness classes, Dr. Nolan also reminded us that, ‘‘Jeri Elmore and Dave Richmond from USA Martial Arts are both adjunct instructors and teach yoga and martial arts respectively. Both of these courses would be great options for students looking for PE [physical education] credits or electives.’’
One other new element to this year’s event was the social work organizations involvement. Dr. Nolan stated, “The Social Work organization had 27 students attend their mindfulness sessions throughout the day.’’
Giveaways that occurred during the event included a FitBit Charge 2 and a $50 Amazon gift card. This event is sponsored by the CU Wellness Committee.
‘‘I truly appreciate all of the individuals and groups on campus who worked to make the Wellness Fair a success. I would like to say a special thanks in memory of John David Smith, who was able to fund the purchase of healthy refreshments for the fair. Andrew Sulgit and the student center staff were extremely helpful and I’m very grateful to Wes Meeteer and the rest of the Wellness Committee,’’ stated Dr. Nolan.
For more information about the CU Wellness Fair please contact Jill Nolan at nolan@concord.edu or call 304-384-6327.