The Healthy Living Expo, which was held at McGee Park on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., drew a solid crowd. The event was organized by the San Juan Partnership, in conjunction with San Juan County and San Juan Regional Medical Center.
“Oh, it's been great. We've already gotten more people than we expected. So it's been wonderful,” said Amanda Evans, coordinator of San Juan Partnership. She said the 200 bags provided by the Farmington Museum and Visitors Bureau had been given out by noon. The count was around 250 adults and children.
Evans said “people have been really excited” and have expressed appreciation for the event and all the information they’ve gathered.
The partnership plans to make the expo an annual event. Evans touted the many resources that are available in San Juan County. She said this is a “kind of one-stop shop” where people who may live out in the rural areas can find out how these resources can help them.
Among the over 40 businesses promoting their products or services included were 100% San Juan County, Alternatives by Sharon, Capacity Builders Inc., Cottonwood Clinicals/Ironwood Gym, Desert River Guides, Farmington Area Single Track, Gathings Community Gardens, It's a Wonderful Thing Paparazzi Jewelry, Mullen’s Equestrian Services, New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force, Overcomers Counseling LLC, San Juan Soil & Water Conservation District and Totah Behavioral Health Authority.
Evans said her 16 years with the partnership has been rewarding, especially in their work with substance-abuse education and prevention. They offer youth programming, such as the dangers of vaping as it can lead to regular tobacco use. Alcohol and fentanyl abuse are concerns, so they’re doing Narcan education for adults and youths. Since COVID, mental health and suicide prevention also are priorities.
She said their data website, sanjuandata.org, allows visitors to access data about the various health and wellness issues in the county.
Rick Griffiths, extension family consumer science agent for New Mexico State University, was the partnership chairman was a key organizer of the event.
“We are very pleased with the turnout. I think we've had a lot of great community participation, which we're very excited about, especially for this being a first-time event,” said Griffiths.
He expressed gratitude for all the vendors, stating that their support allowed them to invite the public without charging. The idea was, he said, “to get many different parts of our community that are involved in health and wellness participating.”
Griffiths said it’s important to understand that health and wellness is a “very broad topic,” which includes physical, mental and even “financial health.” He mentioned the importance of outdoor recreation and how this event allows those businesses to “showcase” their business.
He said their goal is to “help everybody and to create a healthy mindset.”
Griffiths said they want to build on the success established this first year and “hopefully bring many of these vendors back.”
He said the organizational efforts of the San Juan Health Council began about a year ago. During the COVID pandemic they spent a lot of time in virtual meetings, with internal communication and focus.
Griffiths said they realized the need to “reach out” and “really involve the entire community in health and wellness promotion, as well as, policy.”
Griffiths said they felt like the expo would help to “bridge back into the community and bring more people into the discussion around health and wellness.”
Evans said the Health and Wellness Council, composed of more than 30 member organizations, meets the third Thursday of the month at the PMS Community Center, in the Merrion Oil and Gas room.
Evans and Griffiths said they would love to have people show up and express what they feel is needed in the community. Griffith added that the same goes for organizations that aren’t yet involved.
For more information, contact Amanda Evans at 505-566-5867 or evansa@sjcpartnership.org.
A number of nonprofit organizations and other service providers were represented at The Healthy Living Expo. They included:
Presbyterian Medical Services.
Overcomers Counseling LLC.
KSJE 90.9FM.
Capacity Builders Inc.
Desert River Guides LLC.
NMSU San Juan County Extension Office.
Safety LLC.
Life Care Center of Farmington.
Amplified Therapy Inc.
Ideal Option.
Family First Chiropractic and Wellness Center LLC.
Dahlia Christen, with Everyone Deserves New Mexico, came from Santa Fe to share what their agency provides.
“We are helping people that are in rural areas, children, elderly and first responders,” adding that they help others, as well, but that is their focus.
Christen said their staff, all certified peer support workers, help with mental health and to connect people with services. She said there are 19 offices statewide.
The agency has been around for about 35 years, with training provided by the Lifelink Training Institute. “And so we do grants and we work with peers.” said Christen.
“We help displaced individuals find their placements and we help people with addiction and mental health (issues) go into recovery,” she said, adding that includes the “chronically homeless and those with severe mental health issues.”
“And we're really trying to focus on the rural areas and elderly that just don't come to (take advantage of) services,” Christen said.
“It’s great bringing all these different providers and vendors together for people to learn about. I've learned a lot … I didn’t know there was somebody locally growing mushrooms and soil conservancy, so yeah, it's been really interesting, said Lisa Renner.
Renner, who’s a community school coordinator at Animas Elementary, said she works “with some of these folks on different projects,” including a community garden at the school in partnership with Gathings Gardens.
Ryan Dudgeon, owner of Desert River Guides, said, “we've been busy all morning … since 10 a.m. She said they brought a raft to let the kids play and a couch “to chill out.”
Dudgeon said they’re looking forward to another great rafting season and we’re actually gonna take this bad boy down the San Juan after the event at three o'clock.”
Clayton Harrison, secretary of Farmington Area Single Track, said, “I think the event is wonderful, a huge success. It's just really neat to see the community coming out … especially for the younger generation to get them active and out – away from their phones and video games.”
“We had a 2-year-old who'd never been on the Strider bike come out and ride the course,” said Harrison, adding that he was “really excited.”
“It’s been better than I expected. I didn't realize that we had this much interest in our community and outdoor activity,” he said.
Meghan Ritz, a physician assistant and assistant director at the Metabolic and Bariactric Center at San Juan Regional Medical Center, said “I'm actually pleasantly pleased with how many people have attended – two and a half-hours in and we've seen quite a bit of foot traffic.”
“And I love that San Juan County is doing a health expo … I think we certainly have a lot of improvement to make,” said Ritz.
Jeremy Gathings, owner of Gathings Gardens with 23 acres in Bloomfield, said they sell to the local schools and have a nonprofit section that donates produce that’s not market ready to the Echo Food Bank.
Gathings said they’re also developing a gardening curriculum for the schools, with the first one being applied for a community garden at Animas Elementary.
Christine Wright, a preschool teacher at Kirtland Elementary School, said, “I think the turnout was wonderful. I've seen so many kids and smiling families and families who are in need of resources like where can their kids get free preschool.”
Wright was demonstrating the sensory bottle or calming bottles, which help children when they’re upset to relax, breath in and out slowly and watch the sensory bottle. She said it helps greatly with problem solving and anger management.
Cheryl Duggan, who had just arrived, said she came to find out the resources that are available. She said, “it’s wonderful and I already have a bag full of goodies.”
