February 16, 2010
Oconee County Civic Center
Watkinsville, Georgia
Learn about local resources for health promotion and wellness, participate in interactive continuing education workshops, and identify new opportunities for life-long learning in health and wellness. This conference will provide both personal and professional development for health and wellness professionals.
CHES: This event has been approved for 5 CECHs (Category I).
Documents on this site utilize PDF.
SPEAKER INFORMATION
Walter Reeves
Walter is retired from the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, where he worked for 29 years. He grew up on a poultry farm in rural Fayette county, where he cared for the hens and an "enormous" vegetable garden. His grandmother "Bubber" raised flowers in two gardens beside the family home and taught Walter the simple pleasures of puttering around with plants.
He hosts a radio call-in show on NewsTalk 750 WSB-AM every Saturday morning from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. He has done radio gardening call-in for twenty years. “The Lawn and Garden Show with Walter Reeves” is among the most listened-to radio show in Atlanta among all 30 competing radio stations each Saturday morning.
Walter writes a weekly column of garden tips and questions & answers
for the Thursday Atlanta Journal-Constitution Living section and has
just completed his eighteenth year of this effort.
He has hosted “Gardening in Georgia” on Georgia Public Television
since 1999. The weekly broadcast airs each year beginning in April
and ending in October.
Walter can also be seen on the nationally syndicated "DIY's Garden Sense" on the DIY Network
Peter Dale
Peter is a native Athenian
and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1999.
An interest in politics lead him to Washington, DC where he worked
as a congressional legislative aid. The city's fine dining and
multitude of ethnic restaurants eventually proved to be of greater
interest than politics.
The decision to pursue a career in cooking brought Peter back to Athens to work under acclaimed Chef Hugh Acheson of Five & Ten. Six years later, Peter and Acheson, along with partner Chris Luken, have opened The National in downtown Athens. Peter serves as the chef at The National and the menu reflects his interest in Mediterranean cuisine while incorporating local products as often as possible. In particular, Peter is interested in the food culture of Spain and has had the opportunity to spend time in the kitchens of LaBroche in Madrid and La Lobera de Martin in Zaragoza.
In the spring of 2010, Peter and Hugh Acheson will be opening their first restaurant in Atlanta, Empire State South. The restaurant will be a modern interpretation of the classic Southern meat‑and‑three, and will be located in the Midtown neighborhood.
Becky Drayton, MPH, CHES
Becky Drayton received her Bachelor of Science degree from James Madison University. While at JMU she developed a strong interest in preventive medicine and saw the value in taking a proactive approach to health. Becky further pursued a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Georgia. After graduation, she began as a health educator with Athens Regional Medical Center, and has been there for a little over 4 years now. She enjoys empowering others in areas such as stress management, tobacco cessation, weight management, and staying active.
Midge Leventry
Midge Leventry graduated with a B.S. in Food and Nutrition from Cornell University and completed her Dietetic Internship at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She worked as a Registered Dietitian at Cornell and in hospitals in California and Indiana. For over 10 years she was an instructor in Nutrition at Illinois Central College in East Peoria, IL.
In 1993 Midge and her husband, Bob, joined the Peace Corps and served as volunteers in Ecuador, South America for 3 years. As an extension of their Peace Corps experience, they founded the import company, Inca Organics in 1998. They import organic quinoa and other grains from Ecuador and Bolivia working closely with hundreds of indigenous growers. In 2002 their quinoa project won an International Award in Biodiversity from Slow Food International. Their quinoa project greatly increased the income of the indigenous farmers to over the poverty level and reduced child malnutrition in the areas where they work.
They currently reside in Athens where they continue their importing work as one of the major importers of organic quinoa in the world.
Julie Buffalo, RN, certified Tai Chi Instructor
Julie Buffalo has been a nurse at ARMC for almost
25 yrs and now is a community health educator. She has been
interested in tai chi since 2000 when she took her 1st class.
Since then she became certified to teach Sun style Tai Chi thru the
arthritis foundation in 2001 and became a tai chi chih(cha)
instructor since 2008.
Craig Page
Craig Page is the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization PLACE (Promoting Local Agriculture and Cultural Experiences). PLACE's mission is to build a strong, accessible local food culture in Athens, Georgia. Craig is also working on his Masters in Environmental Planning and Design at UGA with a concentration in community and regional food planning.
Jimmy Calloway, PhD
Jimmy Calloway is a Professor at Kennesaw State University and Executive Director of Georgia Coalition for Physical Activity and Nutrition (GPAN).
He is a Full Professor of Sport Science at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw Georgia. He has been a former department chair at several different universities throughout the United States.
Dr. Calloway has served as a professional consultant and fund development officer for the government of the South Africa, Office of the Secretariat, and Decade for Persons with Disabilities.
Dr, Calloway has served as a consultant to the Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services as a reviewer for over 100 grant applications totaling 15 million dollars.
He has served on the National Youth Sports Foundation, the National Recreation and Parks Association and, Blaze sports Inc. fund development boards.
He is an international consultant for countries in Africa, the Middle East, Arab and other Asian countries. Dr. Calloway has served as the director of an international sports camp for youth with disabilities in Barbados.
He assisted in passing legislation which led to the Bermuda National Policy on Disability and continues to work with the Ministry of Disability in Bermuda. He was responsible for convincing the Bermudian parliament to include a person with a disability in their government structure.
He is also fluent in Sign language having taught at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. (The only four year accredited Liberal Arts College for the deaf in the world)!
COLLABORATION PANEL MEMBERS
Cathy Padgett
Cathy Padgett serves as the Public Information Coordinator for the Athens-Clarke County Department of Leisure Services. This month marks her tenth year with the department. She oversees the department's communication efforts for the department's 17 facilities and 50 summer camps. Cathy has served on the boards of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, the East Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the YWCO, as well as the steering committee for Youth Leadership Athens.
ACC Leisure Services has been honored for the past five consecutive years as "Agency of the Year" for populations 80,000 and higher by the Georgia Recreation and Park Association. The department provides hundreds of programs each year including arts, athletics, environmental, and recreational activities. The department maintains in excess of 3,000 acreage and facilities including Lyndon House Arts Center, Memorial Park, the Morton Theatre, Sandy Creek Nature Center, and several others.
Maria Bowie, MPA
\Maria Bowie is the acting director of the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of
Communications. She serves as the Marketing Specialist for UGA
Cooperative Extension. Maria coordinates statewide program efforts
for Walk Georgia, Cooperative Extension’s online fitness program,
including publicity, county support, website functionality,
newsletter distribution and daily user assistance. She supports the
research, teaching and extension programs of the college through
supervision of the college science writers, graphic designers, print
on demand system and media library.
She has a B.S. in Education and M.P.A. Her background is in
environmental education and marketing.
Lisa McKinney, MSW
Lisa McKinney is a Health Promotion Coordinator with the Northeast Health District. She received her MSW from the University of Georgia. Her professional career has been spent working on a variety of physical and mental issues important to public health. She has extensive experience in the administration of health services, specializing in quality improvement, management of information, and general administration. For the past nine years, she has focused on population-based projects to prevent cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. She is currently working as the District’s Mass Vaccination Planner for H1N1 flu. She is an active member of the Nutrition Education Coalition and the Athens Area Wellness Council.
Angie Garcia, M.Ed., RD/LD
Angie Garcia is the School Nutrition Coordinator for the Clarke County School District. She received a B.S. in nutrition from Penn State University and completed her dietetic internship at Emory University in Atlanta. As a registered dietitian, Ms. Garcia worked in long term care for one and a half years before becoming the dietitian for the University of Georgia Food Services Department where she worked for nearly seven years. She also obtained her Master’s of Education from the University of Georgia during this time. Ms. Garcia has been working with Clarke County School District for over five years.