Friday April 8th

If Governor Huckabee can Fight Obesity with Proper Physical Fitness and Nutrition, So Can You!!

http://www.kevinsaunders.com/blog/?p=1169

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The
people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them, make them.

-- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish Playwright

We are very excited to have The Cooper Institute as a partner on the upcoming ‘Fitness 4 All 50 State
Tour’. We will be partnering with them to help promote and make the communities aware of their
FITNESSGRAM® and NURTIGRAM® programs.

FITNESSGRAM® was developed in 1982 by The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas. The objective was to
increase parental awareness of children's fitness levels by developing an easy way for physical education
teachers to report the results of physical fitness assessments.

Student's are assessed in three general areas of health-related fitness. Scores are evaluated against
objective criterion standards that indicate a level of fitness necessary for health.

NUTRIGRAM® will be designed as an interactive, web-based educational site for schools (students in
grades 3-5), teachers, and parents. The site includes nutrition knowledge and eating behavior challenges
with a 3D, game-based learning center for use in classrooms or at home, empowering students to eat
well and move more, while having fun.

The web site will be divided into three areas targeted to:

 Students

 Parents

 Teachers and Administrators

With this said, I came across this interesting article pertaining to the FITNESSGRAM® and how it is

challenging the youth of America. Take a look the article below and let me know your thoughts!

Too Many Students Fail Fitness Test

http://belmontshore.patch.com/articles/too-many-students-fail-fitness-test

Kevin’s Personal Journal

Friday April 8th

If Governor Huckabee can Fight Obesity with Proper Physical Fitness and Nutrition, So Can You!!

http://www.kevinsaunders.com/blog/?p=1169

3:15am CST- I just wanted to remind everyone that what use to be only 10-15 minutes in the morning
now takes me over 2 hours to get up, ready and dressed for the day because I am paralyzed from the
chest down. However I have a deep seeded passion for staying fit and helping educate, motivate and
inspire our nation’s youth, parents, teachers, and the American people about the positive effects of
getting involved in proper physical fitness activities and making better choices when it comes to what to
eat. I want people to learn the importance of eating nutritionally balanced meals and healthy snacks in
such a way they become self motivated and inspired to actively make healthier choices for a lifetime.

This can only be achieved by working with our top fitness and nutritional people, like Dr. Cooper who is
known as the “Father of Aerobics” .

5:30 a.m. CST – We departed for an interview with Ernie Paulson of KARK Little Rock. The interview
started at 6:32 a.m. and lasted for about three minutes. Ernie was very excited about the story and
wanted to follow up with us before we left town. We gave him our number and he told us that he would
call.

After returning to the hotel from the interview, we rested for a while and I prepared for my meeting
with Chris Pyle, with the Governor’s Office, at the capitol building.

2:30 p.m. CST – We departed for the meeting with Chris Pyle, the Policy Advisor for Family and Faith for
the state of Arkansas.

3:45 p.m. CST – We arrived at the State Capitol building in Little Rock, Arkansas. We went to the second
floor of the building where we met Chris Pyle in the Governor’s Reception Room. There, we discussed
Governor Huckabee’s Healthier Arkansas Initiative and how what I was doing with the ‘Big Push Across
America’ tour and how it could help Arkansas’s efforts to reduce obesity and unhealthy living. Governor
Huckabee himself had taken personal responsibility for his health and had lost a lot of weight and gotten
in shape. He was eating good healthy, nutritional balanced meals and healthy snack, as well as becoming
more physically active with aerobics and strength conditioning on a regular basis.

He is a great example of what you can do when you put your mind to it and decide there is always a way
and never give up.  I told him that one of our sponsors, Imshapingup.com, was providing free
memberships for government officials at both city and state level and how this would be the first virtual
health and fitness portal. It would provide easily understood information that was measurable and could
be used for accountability. Chris thought that it was a great idea and said that he would like to go ahead
with working with us and that he would check into the website.

At one time, Gov. Mike Huckabee was a big man. He dreaded climbing the two flights of marble stairs in
the Arkansas statehouse. He prayed there would be no reporters at the top because he knew he needed
two minutes to catch his breath. Few knew how seriously Gov. Huckabee’s weight affected his health;
he also tried to ignore it. His wake-up call came in June 2003 when his friend, former Gov. Frank White,
Friday April 8th

If Governor Huckabee can Fight Obesity with Proper Physical Fitness and Nutrition, So Can You!!

http://www.kevinsaunders.com/blog/?p=1169

whom he had seen just days before, died suddenly of a heart attack. Huckabee resolved to change his
diet and lifestyle, and in about 10 months, he lost 105 pounds. By March 2004, Gov. Huckabee had lost
105 pounds and reversed all the symptoms of his diabetes. Now he’s focused on his state’s weight
problem.

After our meeting we met some interesting people who worked at the State Capitol building. They told
us the history of the building and about former President Clinton recently doing an interview for 60
Minutes in the Governor’s Reception Room. They also told us that the movie, “Stone Cold”, staring Brian
Bosworth was also filmed at the State Capitol building. Most of the building was closed off for the
filming of the movie. I know most people who watch pro football games will never forget the meeting of
Los Angeles Raider #34 Bo Jackson RB, winner of the Heisman trophy in 1985 while attending Auburn
University and were the 1st overall draft pick in 1886 and Seattle Seahawk #55 Brian Bosworth LB. During
this game, Boshworth ran over Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth, who had insulted Jackson and
promised in a media event before the game to contain Jackson

6:00 p.m. CST – We departed the State Capitol building and went out for dinner.

7:00 p.m. CST – We packed up the trailer in preparation for an early departure in the morning.

11:30 p.m. CST – After writing the blog and downloading the new pictures with their appropriate
captions, it was time for bed.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I
don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world
Friday April 8th

If Governor Huckabee can Fight Obesity with Proper Physical Fitness and Nutrition, So Can You!!

http://www.kevinsaunders.com/blog/?p=1169

are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them, make them. -- George Bernard Shaw
(1856-1950) Irish Playwright