EVANSVILLE, IN – About a year ago, a national survey showed that Evansville was the most
obese city in the country. Surveys since then have placed us different places on that list, and
whether or not you take that survey as “exact scienceâ€, we know that at the very least, we can
do better when it comes to the health and fitness level of our community.
When Mayor Lloyd Winnecke took office, one of his priorities was to be proactive in addressing
this issue. Mayor Winnecke invited a group of local health and fitness professionals and
concerned citizens to a meeting to discuss an action plan. From this meeting, an initiative
called Energize Evansville was formed with the mission of organizing local events to help get
Evansville residents more active.
Energize Evansville is launching this campaign with Fitness In The Park, Saturday, May 19th
at 9am at the State Hospital grounds, located at the intersection of Lincoln Ave and Vann Ave.
This event will kick off with the 3rd annual Pushups for Charity Challenge, hosted by Custom
Fit Personal Training. Pushups for Charity is a fun way to get fit and make a difference by
supporting the Boot Campaign, an non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and men
and women of the U.S. Armed Services who have come back home and could use a hand.
Complete information is available at www.PushupsForCharityEvansville.com for those who want
to participate, donate or just come out and watch everyone compete to see who can do the
most pushups in 90 seconds.
After the Pushups for Charity Challenge, there will be yoga, zumba, piloxing and boot camp
style classes for attendees to try.
“Our goal is two-fold,†explains Tony Maslan, owner of Custom Fit and the chairman of the
Energize Evansville committee, “we want to show our support for our veterans who have
sacrificed so much for our freedom and security, and we want to engage our local community in
a fun way to get fit and enjoy one of our many beautiful city parks.â€
“The community is really rising to the challenge – there is a lot of interest in Pushups for Charity.
I think that says a lot about our community’s interest in supporting wounded warriors, and is a
reflection of how much people appreciate the importance of being healthy,†says Maslan.
Registration will begin at 8am. The Pushups Challenge will begin at 9am. Yoga with Yoga 101,
Zumba with Tracy Wilson, and Boot Camp with Bob’s Gym will begin at 9:45am. At 10:45am
there will be Zumba with Heidi Garza and Piloxing with Alissa Fricke.
Representatives from The Diet Doc, Flex 151, Complete Nutrition, The Vitamin Shoppe, the
United States Marine Corps, the United States Army and more will also be there to provide
information on health and fitness.
