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Governor's Council Shines Spotlight on California's 2010 Fitness Champions

"This year's gold medal winners and the three grand prize winning schools should be proud of what they have accomplished," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "The efforts of the students, parents and teachers made it possible for a record-breaking 1.3 million participants to join my physical fitness challenge. California again leads the way, and children all over California are exercising, getting fit and fighting obesity. Congratulations to all the winners, your hard work has paid off."

Franklin Elementary School (Santa Barbara), Charles W. Eliot Middle School (Altadena) and Katella High School (Anaheim) were announced as winners of the 2010 Governor's Challenge Competition and as the Council's Elementary, Middle and High School of the Year respectively. The three schools will each receive brand new fitness activity centers. They were selected from more than 2,400 schools and more than 1.3 million students who engaged in physical activity 30-60 minutes a day, at least 3 days a week for 4 weeks during the previous school year.

The Governor was joined in his praise of the winners by Council Chairman Jake Steinfeld, founder of Major League Lacrosse and Exercise TV. Also joining them was Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, a founding sponsor of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and presenting sponsor of the Spotlight Awards. Anthem Blue Cross Foundation has granted more than $1.7 million to the Council over the last six years.

"I'm a big believer that passion leads and everything else follows," said Steinfeld. "I'm incredibly proud of the passion our award winners have displayed in getting California kids more active and fit. From Seth Martin, our Teacher of the Year from South Lake Tahoe to "Fun on the Run" our Park and Recreation Program from San Clemente, each and every one of our award winners is helping California further our reputation as the Nation's Fitness State."

"As the presenting sponsor of the Spotlight Awards and founding sponsor of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, I am so impressed with the outstanding success of the fitness challenge over the past several years. We are delighted to be playing a part in reaching more than one million of our state's students with messages about the importance of taking action to live healthier lives," said Pam Kehaly, president of Anthem Blue Cross of California. "I am confident that the healthy lessons these young people are learning now, just like those they are taught in the classroom, will serve them well now and for the rest of their lives."

Research shows that regular physical activity during childhood and adolescence helps build healthier bones and muscles, increases self-esteem, and reduces the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a leader in preventing childhood obesity and encouraging all Californians to live healthier. Since taking office, the Governor has:

• Increased fresh fruits and vegetables in our schools.
• Banned junk food from schools.
• Banned trans fats and foods fried in unhealthy oils from schools.
• Increased funding for physical education classes and equipment for our schools.
• Held an obesity summit to raise awareness and get families involved.

2010 Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Spotlight Awards
Presented by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation
Gold Medalists and other Honorees:

Principal - Jason Romero, Sunset Elementary, San Ysidro
Teacher - Seth Martin, Tahoe Valley Elementary, South Lake Tahoe
Non-Profit Organization - 100 Mile Club, Norco
Event - Summerfest 2010, Ventura
Park and Recreation Program - Fun on the Run - City of San Clemente
Parent Association - Overland Avenue Elementary Parent Teacher Association, Los Angeles
Schools - Franklin Elementary School, Santa Barbara
- Charles W. Eliot Middle School, Altadena
- Katella High School, Anaheim
County of the Year - Orange County
School Districts of the Year
Bay Area - Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
Central Coast - King City Union Elementary School District
Central Valley - Sanger Unified School District
Desert Sierra - Palm Springs Unified School District
Gold Coast - Oxnard School District
Gold Country - Stanislaus Union Elementary School District
Los Angeles - Temple City Unified School District
North Coast - Fort Bragg Unified School District
Orange County - Anaheim Union High School District
San Diego and Imperial - San Marcos Unified School District
Sierra Cascade - Evergreen School District

A full listing of the gold, silver and bronze medalists, plus the eleven regional award winning schools in the 2010 Governor's Challenge Competition can be found at www.CalGovCouncil.org

About the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

The California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting physical activity for all Californians with an emphasis on children and youth. Governor Schwarzenegger is the Honorary Chairman and Council members include Chairman Jake Steinfeld, Vice Chairman Peter Vidmar, and California sports legends such as Tony Hawk, Laila Ali, Misty May-Treanor, and Jerry Rice. Governor's Council Key Initiatives include the Governor's Challenge, the Governor's Council Spotlight Awards Presented by Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, the Governor's Council Activity Guide, the Live Like a Champion Tour powered by Anthem Blue Cross and Exercise is Medicine. Founding sponsors are the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente. For more information visit www.CalGovCouncil.org.

About the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association promotes Anthem Blue Cross's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and its parent foundation provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.

Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Kenny Rogers, 310-692-0162 (Cell)
Executive Director
Kenny@CalGovCouncil.org
or
Me Communications
Bill Bradley, 916-213-5230 (Cell)
Media Contact
Bill@Me-Comm.com