VAIDEN — Mayor Melvin Hawthorne wants people who live in Vaiden to be healthy, with access to nutritious food and places that make it easier to exercise.
To help carry out those goals, Hawthorne and town officials joined with First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program in June.
“We want to provide healthy activities and make sure we provide places to exercise to help curb obesity,” Hawthorne said.
Vaiden has received three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze for its achievements in five goals, all of which have to do with educating the public on proper nutrition and encouraging exercise. In Mississippi, only Hernando has received gold medals in all five areas.
Hawthorne said Vaiden has done several things in the area of nutrition, including feeding children in the summer, helping young people plant a vegetable garden at the Farmer’s Market, and posting “My Plate” posters in the local grocery store.
In the area of exercise, Vaiden has held a one-mile run for children in May, with participants receiving T-shirts, and a fun day for all children in the vacant Vaiden High gym during Christmas break. They also put big-form blocks in the gym for Head Start students to use.
“They come over about once a month and play with them,” Hawthorne said. “We also have a Kaboom playground set we gave to the Head Start program.”
The town also encourages residents to walk or jog on an 850-foot, 16-foot wide asphalt track at the old school.
“The last Saturday in April, we have a one-mile walk and jog for all ages,” Hawthorne said.
On Sept. 16, City Clerk Sonya Stokes-Greenleaf traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in a seminar on improving access for citizens to a healthy lifestyle. The program was sponsored by the National League of Cities and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Stokes-Greenleaf said the program included mayors and city officials from around the country and celebrated their achievements in “engaging their local residents in a healthier lifestyle.” After lunch, the group heard remarks from Mrs. Obama.
“It gave me a firsthand view of Washington,” she said. “It was amazing to see the buildings and all the people working — to see the federal government in actuality. It was live, no longer in theory as we learned in school. It’s a very busy life there, quite a world away from a Southern agenda.”
“Mrs. Obama was sincere and poignant about her interests and concerns. She likes to see that we’re focused,” she said. “It was good to be in the room with her.”
Her favorite sites in D.C. were the Lincoln Memorial and the construction going on of the new African American Museum that will open in 2016.
“I feel so very privileged and graced with not only a once-in-a-lifetime invitation from the White House, yet also to serve the people and administration of Vaiden! It has truly been a wonderful experience,” she said.
Stokes-Greenleaf said Vaiden does a “lot with the little money we have. We make it work with a lot of volunteers and partnerships with the community.
“We get a lot done.”
