St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere but its people make the city special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench Monthly shines a light on one of the many who make St. Pete unique.
This month our light shines on the Director of Health and Wellness for the National Senior Games Association, Andrew Walker. As an expert in producing and disseminating health and wellness resources designed to promote active aging, Andrew devotes his professional life to challenging negative assumptions about aging while promoting the positive possibilities of an active lifestyle. It’s a role he’s been preparing for his entire life!
Florida Roots
Born in St. Pete, Andrew graduated from Northeast High School in 1977 and headed to University of Florida as a nationally ranked hurdler. Despite lettering in all four years of college, Andrew realized that competitive track wasn’t his future path. Instead, as he explained, had always felt “driven towards wellness.” His 8th grade science project was entitled “Benefits of Exercise” and his family provided a foundation that stressed education and a healthy lifestyle. His grandfather, Andrew Polk, was Dean of Men at the historic Bethune-Cookman College (now University) before eventually relocating to St. Pete where (among other positions) he served as Gibbs High School principal. Andrew’s mother, Anna Maria Polk Walker (named by the illustrious Mary McLeod Bethune) graduated from Bethune- Cookman, earned her M.S. at Michigan State, and taught Home Economics for 31 years at Gibbs. Andrew’s drive towards wellness manifested as a BS in Health Education and Exercise Science from UF and a master’s degree in Public Health Education and Promotion from USF.
Coming Home to St. Pete
Over the years, Andrew’s drive towards wellness has taken him from Florida to Georgia and then back to Florida as his career led him in a variety of directions, including the implementation and development of health and wellness programs in academic, municipal, and corporate settings. Then three years ago, the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) offered him the opportunity to develop a new Health & Wellness program from the ground up. Plus it meant he’d be back in St. Pete! Since then, he has led the NSGA’s efforts to implement policies and strategies designed to spread information and raise awareness of “how the Senior Games challenge notions of ageism” and how to translate the lessons learned to the general population. For example, NSGA research shows that highly active older adults who compete in The Games experience falls at a much lower rate than their age peers and that if they do experience a fall, they recover in significantly higher percentages. In many ways he’s come full circle, from his 8th grade science project on the “Benefits of Exercise” to today! For more information visit www. nsga.com.
Practice What You Teach
As a person moving towards his own senior years, Andrew practices what he teaches. He may not run hurdles anymore but he does walk for exercise along with doing Pilates (as does his 95-year-old father!) and practicing (and teaching) Tai Chi. He also understands the value of individual and community emotional health and wellbeing, which is why he’s also committed to the social justice work practiced by the St. Augustine Episcopal Church in south St. Pete. Social justice efforts recognize that the journey to healthy awareness and understanding begins with truth and reconciliation. Towards that goal, Andrew is involved with the local Community Remembrance Project (in collaboration with the Equal Justice Initiative) in their efforts to publicly acknowledge and commemorate local St. Pete lynching victims.
Learn more about the Equal Justice Initiative by visiting their website at www.eji.org/community-remembrance-project.
