FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Young and old were in attendance at Fort Rucker’s first-ever Men’s Sports, Fitness and Wellness Expo June 15 at The Landing.
The expo gave both Soldiers and civilians a chance to learn more about their health from local professionals and a look at different activities available to them through Fort Rucker’s physical fitness facilities, Silver Wings Golf Course and others.
Leigh Ann Dukes, Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation commercial sponsorship sales manager, said the event experienced a good turnout and will hopefully happen at the same time next year.
“We wanted to start on a small level, since this is the first time, because we want this to be established as another annual event,” she said. “Having it in conjunction with Men’s Health Week is another idea to help get the word out.”
Some attendees said they were able to find out about things they hadn’t considered before and even managed to set up a future round of golf at SWGC in the process.
“It’s great that the post would put something like this on for us,” Maj. Jesse Delgado, B Co., 1st Battalion, 212th Aviation Regiment commander, said. “I think society has changed in a sense of how we all want to be living healthier. The Army has always promoted that, and it’s great that Fort Rucker is really pushing that as well.”
Delgado and his unit’s personnel officer, Capt. Dave Winter, both said they liked being able to find out about other sports and activities available to them in the area and what types of things they should look for as they get older, such as spine health and sleep apnea.
Dana Florea, Southeast Alabama Medical Center account executive, gave out information packets and demonstrated equipment for those men interested in finding out more about sleep disorders and their treatments. She said the event was a great opportunity for men and those vendors trying to get more information out to the public.
“We just want to give back to the community,” she said. “As far as being physically fit, sleep disorders like sleep apnea can actually be hereditary. We have a sleep disorder center and I’m giving out information on that for people who think they may have any kind of disorder.”
Even some who work in the medical field found the expo to be helpful and a fun way to spend an afternoon on post.
“There’s a lot of good stuff here,” said Kevin Manley, Lyster Army Health Clinic resource manager. “It’s important that guys like me, who are getting a little bit older, take advantage of a day like this and learn how to take better care of ourselves.”
Manley said he hopes the event becomes an annual event and that he plans to come back next year if it does.
Dukes said she was pleased with the turnout for the event and was pleased to see how many people were taking advantage of the information available to them.
“This is something we’re definitely going to be able to build off of,” she said. “As the day went on, we had more and more people come through.”
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