Dear Mayor,

We hope that many of you have heard by now of our very successful “Mayors Healthy Cook-Off” held on June 6th in Parsippany.  We want to thank the 17 Mayors who participated and the hundreds of interested citizens who dropped by the Parsippany Police Athletic League building for an enjoyable and healthy evening. 

This joint Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) and New Jersey State League of Municipalities event helped to highlight our promotion of Mayors as champions of community health as we work together to combat obesity.  We hope you will take a few moments to go to the MWC website (www.mayorswellnesscampaign.org) to see some of the great photos from the event (look for “In the News” under “Events”).

We are currently in the planning stages for a similar event in South Jersey this October for Mayors in the central and southern part of the state.  We will get details to you as soon as they become available.

Today more than 200 mayors have joined the Mayors Wellness Campaign.  If you are not a participating town, we hope you will take the time to join today.  Joining is easy.  Simply go to the MWC webpage and look for the “Mayors, Sign Your Pledge Here” icon on the home page.  Our goal is to have more than half (284) of all New Jersey municipalities participating by the time we arrive at the 2007 League Conference (“Perceptions, Realities, Opportunities”) on November 13th.  For the third straight year, the Mayors Wellness Campaign will be highlighted at the Conference.

The Mayors Wellness Campaign is an initiative of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (www.njhcqi.org) in partnership with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (www.njslom.org). The MWC supports mayors as champions of community health.  The goal is to increase opportunities for New Jersey residents to participate in daily physical activity with a long-term goal of reducing health care costs secondary to obesity.  Through public-private partnerships, the MWC provides structure and resources for healthy community initiatives.  By encouraging mayors to play a leadership role in supporting local opportunities for active, healthy lifestyles, the intent of the MWC is to improve health and make New Jersey a national leader in community-based health interventions.

Together we are making a real difference in improving the overall health of our citizens through local leadership.  We hope you will join us.

Very truly yours,