GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR HEALTH FAIR

     Although it was a cool and rainy day at the start, the weather for our first-ever Health and Wellness Fair took a turn for the better in the afternoon when the temperature went up a little and the sun came out.
     And although some people said they didn't know we were having a health fair, it was publicized through over 40 different media outlets.
     All in all, we were very pleased with the turn-out of the fair and have received positive feedback from a good number of our patrons.
     We had 18 healthcare services participating at 13 stations, which included the bloodmobile center located right outside our front door.  And there were at least 34 healthcare providers who manned those stations during the day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
     In order to critique the health fair afterwards, we asked our providers to answer a very short survey regarding Attendance, Preplanning Communication, Management of the Fair, Booth Space, and Publicity.  We also asked them for suggestions, to estimate the number of participants they interacted with during the day, and whether they would participate in another fair, if we had one.
     It's nice to say that all but one provider said they would be glad to join us in another health fair.  The one that didn't say yes said "maybe."  I certainly couldn't blame that person, who had traveled at least an hour and a half from Tallahassee to Moultrie for the event, and who felt there should have been more communication between the initial agreement to participate and the date of the event.  So, the "maybe" was a reasonable comment from that person and good to know as their only suggestion.
     The number of participants the providers interacted with, of course, depended upon what each visitor was interested in.  Ten-minute massages while sitting in a special chair were given to approximately 150 visitors, while a special counseling provider saw only four to five people.  The blood center saw 31 people, while the health department saw only thirteen.  Where some providers did hands-on hearing checks and posture/feet checks, some had pamphlets and service information to distribute.  Some providers gave out candy and some gave pencils.
     Suggestions from the providers ranged from "have flu shots at the fair" to "give out door prizes."  Other suggestions encouraged us to "send invitations to participants" and have "a shorter time period, like 9 a.m. to 12 or 12 to 3 p.m."
     But then we had comments, such as "you had a lot of good vendors" and "I just want to thank the library for the chance to get our name out to the commuity."  Others offered to post any publicity fliers, posters, etc. in their offices.  Another stated, "The fair is an excellent way to get resources out to the public.  The people who did come by were very interested."
     To the following we give our big Thank-You:  Colquitt Regional Medical Center, University of Georgia Extension Office, Dr. Joseph H. Berger's office, Southeastern Community Blood Center, Anytime Fitness, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Alzheimer Association's Southwest Georgia Regional Office, Moultrie Medical Weight Loss Center, Colquitt County Health Department, Pharmanex, and United Hospice.
     Our biggest thanks go to our co-sponsor Chiropractic Solutions, who manned two stations, and to our MCCLS Friends for their help during the day.
     Like I said earlier, although the weather was a factor we couldn't control, we were very pleased with the turn-out of the fair.  It does show that the community is interested in their health needs and well-being.  And it does encourage us to hold another Health and Wellness Fair.  Just when...well, that's something we're going to be working on.  You might say this is an event...to be continued.