PITTSBURGH — New Castle dairy farmers Renée Norman-Kenny and Clayton Kenny joined middle schoolers at Heinz Field last month to participate in a Fuel Up to Play 60 Beyond the Field Youth Summit. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association facilitated the summit, which gathered 64 program advisors and students.
Held in the Hyundai West Club Lounge at Heinz Field, the event kicked off with remarks from dairy farmer Renée Norman-Kenny from Kenny Farm. Norman-Kenny shared the story about her family’s dairy farm and encouraged the students to take every opportunity to become involved in the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. “As a dairy farmer and mother, I am a proud supporter of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program because it empowers students to take charge in making small, everyday changes in their communities,” said Kenny.
Former Steelers’ quarterback, Charlie Batch, delivered the keynote address. “I am glad that the Fuel Up to Play 60 program not only encourages kids to be active for 60 minutes per day, but also includes a leadership component,” said Batch. “This is a program that all kids should want to be a part of.”
Batch also moderated an interactive panel discussion that included representatives from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Each member of the panel talked about their role within the organization and described what it’s like to work as a part of the “team behind the team,” and how each of their roles contributes to the overall success of the organization. Panel members included Rick Giugliano, assistant director of marketing; Tim Post, corporate partnership manager; Jaime Greenwald, community relations manager; Missi Matthews, Steelers TV/Steelers.com reporter; and Sonia Gysland, assistant athletic trainer.
Fuel Up to Play 60, the nation’s largest in-school health and wellness program, is now in nearly 73,000 schools nationwide and is made possible through the dairy farmer-funded checkoff. Current Fuel Up to Play 60 students who participated in the event had the opportunity to network, learn new exercises from former Steelers’ defensive lineman, Chris Hoke, and even created their own songs about the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. “Teamwork is a really big part of Fuel Up to Play 60 and it was fun to work together with my classmates,” said Riley T., student at Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School.
“The students were excited about the activity and they were sure to include the positive health benefits of milk in their songs.” said Norman-Kenny. “Attending the event was very rewarding for us because we were able to see our contribution to the program at work.”
Caption: Dairy farmer Renée Norman-Kenny shared her story and spoke to more than fifty middle school students about the importance of teamwork on her family’s farm.
About Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association
Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association is one of 19 state and regional promotion organizations working under the umbrella of the United Dairy Industry Association. It is the local affiliate of the National Dairy Council®, which has been conducting nutrition education and nutrition research programs since 1915. For more information, visit www.dairyspot.com.
About Fuel Up to Play 60
Created in partnership by the National Football League and National Dairy Council, which was founded by America’s dairy farmers, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fuel Up to Play 60 is the nation’s largest in-school wellness program and creates real transformational change in more than 73,000 schools. Learn more at www.FuelUpToPlay60.com
Source: Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association
