President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
50th Anniversary: 1956 – 2006
Partner Invitation to Get America Moving!

Invitation: The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS) celebrates its 50-year anniversary in 2006 and invites you to join the celebration!

We welcome individuals, organizations, and public and private entities that promote physical activity, fitness and/or sports participation to become 50th Anniversary Partners to Get America Moving!

Background: PCPFS was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 as the President's Council on Youth Fitness and was later expanded to include Americans of all ages and abilities. President George W. Bush reinvigorated the Council in 2002 with a focus on inspiring Americans to be physically active through the President's Challenge Awards Program. The President maintains an active lifestyle himself and encourages all Americans to live a healthy lifestyle.

Purpose: With the celebration of the Council's fifty years, the tenth anniversary of the Surgeon General's landmark report on physical activity (1996), the support of a President who maintains an active lifestyle and promotes healthy living, and the staggering rates of overweight and obesity that continue to plague this country, 2006 presents an opportune time to bring more visibility to the importance of physical activity, fitness, and sports for improving and maintaining health.

Throughout 2006, we want to recognize the valuable contributions and efforts of our friends and colleagues who have dedicated themselves over the last fifty years to improving the health and fitness of Americans. We also want to look forward and invite partners to respond to a Call to Action to fortify efforts to get more Americans active, as we move into the future. Therefore, by engaging in this partnership, you will join us in celebrating where we've been and where we're going as a nation. We commend all who are working hard to be part of the solution to the challenges our nation is facing - challenges caused by sedentary living.

Collaboration is the key to making the changes we all want to see. By becoming a 50th Anniversary Partner to Get America Moving, we will pledge to work together to move the meter!

Criteria: Partners shall include individuals, professional societies, private corporations, not-for-profit organizations, coalitions, corporate leaders, schools, health care providers and others that: (1) support physical activity, fitness and/or sports participation as a primary mission; (2) have potential for significant impact; (3) are inclusive, or aimed at under-represented groups; (4) promote positive, healthy behaviors; (5) disseminate materials free of charge; and (6) do not imply approval or endorsement of unhealthy behaviors or products.

As a partner, organizations will receive the official PCPFS 50th Anniversary logo; a link and notable mention on the PCPFS web site (www.fitness.gov) and President's Challenge web site (www.presidentschallenge.org); invitations to participate in celebratory activities at the national, state, and local levels; tools and messages to incorporate into your own programs; and the opportunity to work with collaborative partners ready to direct national attention to the importance of adopting and maintaining an active lifestyle in order to improve the quality of life for Americans of all ages and abilities.

When: The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports seeks to launch this landmark partnership opportunity in January, 2006 and track participation throughout the calendar year.

Contact: For further information, please contact either Melissa Johnson, Executive Director at 202-690-5187 or mjohnson@osophs.dhhs.gov or Christine Spain, Director, Research, Planning, and Special Projects at 202-690-5148 or cspain@osophs.dhhs.gov.