By JIM LUKSIC
The Progress
Mesquite’s annual Heart Walk got moving on Friday morning at the Mesquite Rec Center on Old Mill Road.
Registration and a prize raffle took place inside the venue’s gymnasium for the Feb. 9 affair – which promoted Heart Health Awareness Month – according to Nicholas Montoya, city director of Athletics & Leisure Services.
“We have been doing this for 20 years and welcome the celebration,” Montoya said, noting that 300 registrants walked the walk this time around. “We have had many people participate over the years and some do so every year.”
Among those hundreds on hand, 150 were 5th-graders from Virgin Valley Elementary School.
For the record, Heart Walk has sponsors but isn’t a registered fundraiser; any donations go toward youth programs.
Registration costs nothing; participants who provided contact information were given red T-shirts.
During this month, Montoya asserted, “We are committed to supporting our community to get healthier. We all should look at our lifestyles and see what we can do to help promote a heart-healthy lifestyle for the future.”
He expressed “special thanks” to the Mesquite Showgirls for helping out at the walk.
The walkers’ path wended from the Rec Center’s front entrance, through town, ending at Mesa View Regional Hospital, where Rob Fuller – director of Development & Marketing – would be at the finish line. Fuller and Montoya had addressed the assembly of participants beforehand, announcing winners of raffle prizes, prior to walkers strolling out the door and making their way down Old Mill.
Fuller, who has contributed to the Heart Walk for a dozen years, explained how the event was instructional.
“The hospital is distributing educational materials and healthy snacks,” he told The Progress, adding there was a nurse practitioner and cardiologist on hand offering free medical advice.
Fuller emphasized the need for people to exercise or be mobile in some capacity.
“Being sedentary is the new smoking,” he said, citing an American Heart Association report that 80% of heart attacks – the No. 1 killer in adults – are preventable. Fuller explained that sometimes it boils down to “small” factors, such as eating less fat and cholesterol.
Sun City resident Lynette Stone, who showed up with a group of people at the Rec Center, was ready to roll at Heart Walk for the first time.
“I’m here to support our community, exercise, and support Mesa View,” she said.
Mesquite’s Terry Butterfield, who hadn’t heard of the event until this year, offered a similar explanation for her presence in the gym.
“I just wanted to be out in the community, get some exercise, and socialize,” said Butterfield, who invited a couple of friends.
Fuller had a mindset of ‘the more involved, the merrier.’
“Heart Walk serves as a reminder about the importance of moving your body and thinking positively,” he said.
