Awards honor health programs

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By MATT CRANE
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The Starkville Community Market will host an awards ceremony 9 a.m. Saturday to honor 11 grantees who received funding from the Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation.

Those grantees include: Armstrong Middle School, the Starkville unit of the Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle, Emerson Preschool, La Leche League of Starkville/Columbus, Organic Mothers, Pilot Club of Starkville, Starkville in Motion, Starkville Natural Parents, Starkville Park Commission, Starkville Soccer Association and Sudduth Elementary School.

Healthy Starkville Committee member Matthew Rye said the awards ceremony is a reflection of what the committee has done in the community to encourage healthy habits.

“The city of Starkville is a leader in moving our state to a healthier level,” Rye said. “We are honored to be a part of it.”

Committee Chairman Person Chris Gottbrath said he is excited about the awards ceremony and the sense of momentum the committee has gained from the ideas and programs circulating throughout the community.

“We were excited we were able to award these grants as Starkville was named Healthiest Hometown in 2011,” Gottbrath said. “We don’t want to stop there, though. We want to keeping building to move forward.”

Gottbrath said one of the committee’s goals is to establish itself as a connection point for the variety of resources throughout the community.
“There are a lot of great ideas and programs people are talking about,” he said. “We want to be the nexus for those things and make sure we’re bringing the people in this community together.”

Gottbrath said the committee aims to bring organizations in from the hospital and school district to help promote healthy and exciting activities throughout the school system.

“We’re building for the future,” he said. “We want to do more for the community and establishing way for getting people healthier.”

The Healthiest Hometown awards ceremony will take place 9 a.m. today at the Starkville Community Market, located at the corner of Lampkin Street and Jackson Street. The public is encouraged to attend.