50 Million Pounds // Walking program begins Saturday

By ROGER ADKINS, radkins@newsandsentinel.com  //  POSTED: April 23, 2008


Photo by Roger Adkins
Dan McPherson, front left, walks next to Kenzie and Jyles Johnson followed by, back from left, Tricia Petty, Ron Petty, Deanna Lewis, Susan Nutter, Mischa Johnson and Jeff Johnson on the Erickson track.

PARKERSBURG — A local group is initiating a three-month effort to encourage more people in the Mid-Ohio Valley to get active and shed extra pounds.

Dan McPherson, a local insurance agent, is leading a group of walkers on a three-month challenge to lose weight by walking at the Erickson All-Sports Facility off Old Camden Avenue in south Parkersburg. He is partnering with Mischa and Jeff Johnson, owners of Anytime Fitness in south Parkersburg, and the Neighbors for More Active People based at the Center For Aging on Market Street.

The walkers will meet every Saturday starting April 26. They will be walking from 9-11 a.m. at the track at Erickson All-Sports Facility, McPherson said.

McPherson said he wanted to start a program on the grassroots level to encourage people to be more active. The local effort is associated with State Farm’s “50 Million Pounds” challenge. To join the local team, citizens can visit www.50millionpounds.com and enter the team name “Parkersburg WV.”

   Mischa Johnson said Anytime Fitness will provide a free monthly body composition analysis. There are plans to bring guest speakers to some of the meetings.

“We’re trying to get people active in the community,” she said.

West Virginia is not known for being home to healthy people, McPherson said.

“I do not like the image in the media, with West Virginia people ranked two or three in the nation as most obese. West Virginia has been named one of the three most obese states in the country. This is our chance to demonstrate to the country that we can change our image,” he said.

The perception of the state is not incorrect, McPherson said. There is a problem with obesity, but it’s a problem West Virginians can fix, he said.

“I want those of us from this area to form together to help each other lose weight. I am proud to be from West Virginia and proud of my friends and neighbors, but I can see what the media is reporting is probably correct,” he said. “We want everyone to join us. If you are 10 pounds overweight or 200 pounds overweight, come on out. Adults, children, husbands, wives, young or old -- all are invited. Come even if you are in great shape. Ask your friends to join you and give them moral support.”

McPherson said he believes the effort will grow. If there is enough interest in Wood County, word will spread beyond its borders.

McPherson said for every pound he loses, he’s going to donate $10 to the Erickson facility.

  

“Let’s start in our community with a wave big enough to move across the state and across the river,” he said. 

“We are one of the friendliest states in the country. Now we can be one of the fittest.”

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