MESSA
Great Lakes Wellness Conference promotes healthy lifestyles
MESSA members are motivated to create or recharge employee wellness programs in their home school districts.
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For more than two decades, MESSA’s Great Lakes Wellness Conference has been at the forefront of promoting wellness.
Over that span, thousands of MESSA members attending the conference have been inspired to live healthier lifestyles and to create or recharge existing employee wellness programs in their home districts.
The 23rd annual Great Lakes Wellness Conference—scheduled this June 17-20 at Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville—will feature the perfect blend of workshops, information, motivation and fun for participants.
The conference offers a variety of workshops that focus on mind, body and spirit, says MESSA wellness program consultant Mona Tropf.
“In more recent years, a major focus of the conference has extended to nutrition and stress management,” Tropf said.
In addition to the workshops, participants are always encouraged to stay active at the conference with an array of physical activities such as water aerobics, golf, tennis, swimming canoeing, hiking, running, bicycling, yogilates, and even fly fishing.
MESSA board member Vivian Davis, an Albion EA member who attended her first Great Lakes Wellness Conference last year, is looking forward to this June’s event.
“I really appreciated the workshops. Our sessions were stimulating and refreshing because the relevancy of the topics offered learning experiences regardless of age, professional expertise or physical challenges.”
Davis specifically acknowledged a workshop presented by Dr. Steve TePastte, MESSA medical director, that provided valuable information on dietary supplement scams and how consumers are often blindsided by slick marketing and false claims.
“He identified products that are safe and effective and products that are not,” Davis said. “What an eye-opening experience. This was a workshop I wish all of our members could attend.”
This year’s conference marks the return of fitness guru Richard Simmons, back by popular demand for the second straight year.
Simmons wowed conference participants last year—147 school employees from 49 school districts—with his energetic and upbeat promotion of physical fitness.
“Richard Simmons brought down the house with his high level energy,” Davis said. “We moved, danced and laughed a lot as he engaged every participant with his unique style and charm.”
Simmons’ quest is to improve the physical fitness of America’s children, and the wellness conference provides the perfect opportunity for school employees to learn more about healthy behaviors that they can model for students.
While most participants pay their own conference fee, a limited number of scholarships are available for MESSA school employees to attend this June’s conference. For more information or to register, contact Tropf at mtropf@messa.org, telephone 800/292-4910 or 517/336-4054. liquidlibrary.com 16 MEA VOICE MEA Financial Services