King Center to Present Health and Wellness Forum

“This wonderful program has proven to be an invaluable asset to Atlanta inner city residents, and last year more than 1,000 people in our community benefited from the free testing, screenings and educational programs.”

(BUSINESS WIRE)--The King Center announced that it will officially launch the 2010 MLK Birthday Observance on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010 by hosting and co-sponsoring its second annual “Health and Wellness Forum.” It is being co-sponsored by a $50,000 grant from Aetna (NYSE: AET), which also funded last year’s inaugural program.

The program, which will be held at locations within the King Historic Site in Atlanta, is free of charge to the public. Aetna provides health benefits to more than 600,000 members in Georgia.

The Health and Wellness Forum will include a three-session “Town Hall Meeting” on health, nutrition, recreation and wellness, conducted by leading medical experts, for Metro Atlanta communities; a “Health and Wellness Fair” providing free medical tests and screenings and “The Children’s Nutrition Education & Physical Activity Expo by C.H.O.I.C.E.S.”

“We are delighted to join with Aetna once again in presenting the Health and Wellness Forum as part of our annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance,” said Isaac Newton Farris Jr., president and chief executive officer of The King Center. “This wonderful program has proven to be an invaluable asset to Atlanta inner city residents, and last year more than 1,000 people in our community benefited from the free testing, screenings and educational programs.”

“Aetna welcomes the opportunity to join the King Center in this vitally important effort,” said Cynthia Follmer, Aetna’s Georgia market president. “At a time when our nation is evaluating ways to bring meaningful reform to the health care system, it is very important to help people learn to better manage their own health. Diseases like diabetes and obesity are serious threats to our future, especially in the African American community. Working with the King Center, Aetna is confident projects like this one can make a real difference in improving awareness and wellness in Atlanta.”

In addition to providing potentially life-saving information, the Health & Wellness Forum will provide free medical test and screenings for attendees, with a total value of more than $1,000.

Targeting youth K-12, adults, educators and community leaders, participants will be screened and tested for cholesterol levels, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, breast and skin cancer, lung capacity, asthma, dental health, vision and hearing. Organ donor information and chair massages will also be provided. The Town Hall meeting will provide life-saving information about childhood obesity, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, asthma and other medical disparities to empower people to achieve better health, wellness and nutrition and help correct disparities in Atlanta communities.

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Zoo Atlanta Celebrates 120 Years

It’s been 120 years since the circus came to town – and never left.

Zoo Atlanta celebrated its 120th birthday on March 28, 2009, recalling the date
when one visionary entrepreneur backed the beginnings of one of
Georgia’s most beloved attractions.

In March 1889, a traveling circus – Colonel G.W. Hall’s Railroad Show
Bingley’s Monster European Menagerie, by name – went bankrupt just
south of Atlanta. Disgruntled circus employees deserted the show, leaving
a ragtag collection of caged wildlife behind. The homeless motley crew,
which included a jaguar, a hyena, a black bear, a raccoon and several
lionesses, pumas, camels and snakes, had already drawn scores of
curious Victorian gawkers by the time it was announced that the erstwhile
circus stars would be placed at public auction.

On March 28, 1889, businessman George Valentine Gress purchased the entire
collection, donating the wildlife to the city of Atlanta. One of only 13 zoos in the
U.S. at the time, the Gress Zoological Gardens opened that April, with Grant Park
streetcars straining to accommodate an opening weekend attendance of nearly
12,000.

Now home to more than 1,300 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians
and the locus of numerous international conservation programs, Zoo Atlanta remains
one of the top 10 oldest zoos in continuous operation in America. “Reaching this
milestone is exciting especially as we embark on an amazing 20 year master plan that will
transform and take Zoo Atlanta into the next 120 years,” said Zoo Atlanta President and
CEO Dennis Kelly.

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20th Birthday Celebration Today for Zoo Atlanta's First Born Gorilla

Birthday activities on Sunday, March 15

Guests are invited to join festivities honoring Zoo Atlanta’s firstborn gentle giant on Sunday, March 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in The Ford African Rain Forest. Kekla and fellow bachelors Charlie and Stadi will open birthday packages at 1 p.m. in Gorilla Habitat One. Shortly thereafter, visitors are invited to join a special “Gorilla Safari” series of keeper talks......Birthday activities on Sunday, March 15

Guests are invited to join festivities honoring Zoo Atlanta’s firstborn gentle giant on Sunday, March 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in The Ford African Rain Forest. Kekla and fellow bachelors Charlie and Stadi will open birthday packages at 1 p.m. in Gorilla Habitat One. Shortly thereafter, visitors are invited to join a special “Gorilla Safari” series of keeper talks.....http://allaboutanimalsga.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-gorilla-born-at-zoo-atlanta-turns.html

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