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PITTSBURG —
As an RN, Joanna Rhodes has a natural interest in health and wellness, so it’s quite appropriate that she’s serving as coordinator of Live Well Crawford County, which is dedicated to helping and encouraging community members to make healthy lifestyle choices.
“It’s a nice fit,” said Rhodes, who started as Live Well coordinator in December of 2010. “I did have to learn a lot, because a lot was outside my scope in nursing.”
Through her work with Live Well Crawford County, she has led efforts to award thousands of dollars in grants for area farmers markets, walking and biking trails and healthy concessions.
Rhodes added that the organization has received grant money from the Kansas Health Foundation.
“I think the county will see some changes,” she said. “We want the healthy choice to be the easy choice. People might say they’d like to walk but there’s no sidewalk where they are. We could do some signage to show areas where people can walk, and do some partnerships to make some changes.”
She noted that changes also need to be made on a personal and family level.
“About 10 years ago we made some health conscious changes, including becoming more aware of what we eat,” Rhodes said. “I have a hard time saying no to sweets and chocolate.”
Healthy change doesn’t have to be drastic.
“You don’t necessarily have to go to a gym and work out to get fit,” Rhodes said. “Just being active is healthier than not being active.”
She has done some triathlons, which involve a sequence of swimming, biking and running. Rhodes teamed that with her involvement in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Crawford County and four years ago founded the annual BBBS Youth TRYathlon.
“I thought it would be good to encourage and mentor kids to be active,” she said. “Last year we added a 5K event for those 15 and older, and this year we’ll be adding a 10 K.”
The 2013 BBBS Youth TRYathlon will be on June 2, and Rhodes said that registrations are now being taken on the Facebook page.
“The early registration fee through January is only $20,” she said.
Rhodes still serves as a Big Sister and has served as a BBBS board member, president and vice president.
She is also a PEO member.
Rhodes grew up in Kansas City and came to Pittsburg to major in nursing at Pittsburg State University.
As an RN, Joanna Rhodes has a natural interest in health and wellness, so it’s quite appropriate that she’s serving as coordinator of Live Well Crawford County, which is dedicated to helping and encouraging community members to make healthy lifestyle choices.
“It’s a nice fit,” said Rhodes, who started as Live Well coordinator in December of 2010. “I did have to learn a lot, because a lot was outside my scope in nursing.”
Through her work with Live Well Crawford County, she has led efforts to award thousands of dollars in grants for area farmers markets, walking and biking trails and healthy concessions.
Rhodes added that the organization has received grant money from the Kansas Health Foundation.
“I think the county will see some changes,” she said. “We want the healthy choice to be the easy choice. People might say they’d like to walk but there’s no sidewalk where they are. We could do some signage to show areas where people can walk, and do some partnerships to make some changes.”
She noted that changes also need to be made on a personal and family level.
“About 10 years ago we made some health conscious changes, including becoming more aware of what we eat,” Rhodes said. “I have a hard time saying no to sweets and chocolate.”
Healthy change doesn’t have to be drastic.
“You don’t necessarily have to go to a gym and work out to get fit,” Rhodes said. “Just being active is healthier than not being active.”
She has done some triathlons, which involve a sequence of swimming, biking and running. Rhodes teamed that with her involvement in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Crawford County and four years ago founded the annual BBBS Youth TRYathlon.
“I thought it would be good to encourage and mentor kids to be active,” she said. “Last year we added a 5K event for those 15 and older, and this year we’ll be adding a 10 K.”
The 2013 BBBS Youth TRYathlon will be on June 2, and Rhodes said that registrations are now being taken on the Facebook page.
“The early registration fee through January is only $20,” she said.
Rhodes still serves as a Big Sister and has served as a BBBS board member, president and vice president.
She is also a PEO member.
Rhodes grew up in Kansas City and came to Pittsburg to major in nursing at Pittsburg State University.
“I moved away for a while, then came back,” she said. “I’ve been here 10 years now and really it enjoy it. I’ve had a lot of opportunities here I’ve been able to do because of the size of the community.”
That includes being able to do a lot of her work out of the home she shares with husband Drew Rhodes and children Ethan, 8, and Zadie, 22 months. Rhodes also enjoys occasionally taking the children with her to some of her activities, including several presentations of the Live Well Apple Awards, which are presented to businesses, organizations or individuals who have created programs or opportunities that enable area residents to enact healthy lifestyle choices.
“This will hopefully get them used to being out in the community,” Rhodes said. “Being involved in the community is so important, and you learn so much about yourself from it. I’ve worked with some great leaders in the community, people I really admire.”
She said that she was “surprised and a little overwhelmed” when she learned that she had been selected as one of the 12 Women of Distinction.
“I enjoy living here, and I just want to give back,” Rhodes said.
