More than three dozen Davenport Campus employees
matched their physical and mental skills during Play
Day, in which teams of six or less competed against
each other in anything from tug-of-war to volleyball.
The challenge officially ended with a celebration in the
Student Union on Oct. 22. |
More than 150 staff and faculty
members on Palmer’s Davenport
Campus took the challenge.
Dr. Kern’s Health Challenge was
the brainchild of Roger Hynes,
D.C., Davenport ’98, Technique/
History, who wanted to start a
health program on campus for
employees. President Donald
Kern, D.C., was all for it—and
his likeness was emblazoned
on the back of the participants’
T-shirts.
Dr. Kern’s Health Challenge is
the College’s latest health and
wellness initiative, where teams
of six logged fitness points each
week with the goals of becoming
more fit, losing weight and winning
prizes. During lunch on
Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays it was a common sight to
see Palmer walkers making their
way to Vander Veer Park and
back—while wearing their bright
green Health Challenge shirts.
Lectures were another part of
the program. Faculty members
(including Dan Weinert, D.C.;
Lisa Killinger, D.C.; and Lia
Nightingale, Ph.D.) presented
talks on nutrition, burning fat
and exercise.
On Sept. 14, participants were
invited to take part in a Palmer
Play Day. Three events ran simultaneously,
including: a tug of war,
tricycle relay race and (big, pink,
“fluffy”) volleyball. Nearly twothirds
of the Health Challenge
participants played in the Alumni
Auditorium that day, including
Dr. Kern himself.