'Get Fit Toledo' gets the mayor on the move

3/6/2007

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and "Jared the Subway Guy" today will promote the "Get Fit Toledo" initiative - but, ironically, the event will be in Sylvania Township.

The mayor's spokesman, Brian Schwartz, said he was caught "flat-footed" when asked yesterday why a Toledo location wasn't selected for the event.

Mayor Finkbeiner will be joined by Jared Fogle, Subway's spokesman, at noon today at the Wildwood Medical Center, 2865 North Reynolds Rd., to introduce an enhanced healthy menu initiative for local restaurants and a new elementary exercise program.

"That's news to me," said Mr. Schwartz, who thought the complex was in the city of Toledo.

And in the best tradition of bureaucratic finger-pointing, Mr. Schwartz said the venue was selected by Hart Associates, the Maumee-based public relations and marketing firm which does work for the city of Toledo.

And Brad Leone, vice president for Hart Associates, said the location was picked because Dr. Roger Kruse, co-chairman of the Get Fit Toledo campaign, has an office at Wildwood and will be seeing patients in the morning.

The Get Fit Toledo program aims to convince local folks to shed pounds, stop smoking, and start exercising.

Stan Joplin, University of Toledo head basketball coach, and Dr. David Grossman, commissioner of the Toledo-Lucas County health department, will also attend the event.

The mayor laid out the fitness program in his State of the City speech last year.

Mr. Schwartz said, "Having someone like Jared Fogle raises awareness because he is a national celebrity."

Mr. Fogle gained notoriety by appearing in Subway's commercials as the guy who lost weight while on a Subway sandwich diet.

Get Fit Toledo started by focusing on bike and walking paths, by promoting healthy eating by encouraging local restaurants to put the effort's logo on specific menu items they serve, and by engaging in a public awareness campaign that zeroes in on the quality of life improvements that result when individuals attain a reasonable weight for their body type.