St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench shines a light on one of the many people that make St. Pete unique.
As we move toward 2023, our focus is on Healthy St. Pete coordinator Kim Lehto. Responsible for managing citywide community health and wellness programs as well as the City of St. Petersburg’s employee wellness program, Lehto is passionate about helping “to advance St. Petersburg’s health and well-being.”
Finding Her Way
As a local kid, Lehto spent much of her childhood taking advantage of the area’s parks and honing her athletic skills. Excelling at volleyball and softball while at Boca Ciega High School, Lehto earned scholarships in both sports, enabling her to attend Limestone University in Gaffney, S.C. Graduating with a degree in counseling and human services, she says her primary goal was to “get a job helping people.” By 1999, she had found her way back to St. Pete, where a summer Parks & Recreation job would prove to be the path forward.
Parks & Recreation
Beginning as a coach at Shore Acres Recreation Center, Lehto took an opportunity to work as a part-time programmer with the Teen Arts, Sports and Cultural Opportunities (TASCO) Division before earning the role of full-time supervisor with TASCO’s special events programming. She helped to develop and expand numerous experiential learning programs for teens that were designed to promote positive and empowering leadership skills. She loved being part of this mission, and in 2002 she took “a leap of faith” and left the city when she was presented with a challenging new position.
Parks & Recreation: The Reboot, Parts 1 and 2
As part of a state-sponsored program designed to help young adults as they aged out of the foster care system at age 18, Lehto hoped it would be an “opportunity to really make a difference.” Frustrated by structural limitations that reduced her ability to effect the desired change, she returned to TASCO and Parks & Recreation. A few years later, she moved into a recreation facilities-management position before leaving the city again to pursue a new challenge in Jacksonville. Missing home, she returned to St. Pete and worked for the Tampa Bay Rays as an events coordinator. Again, the city came calling. Officials had obtained a wellness grant, and they wanted Lehto to oversee it, so she returned to the Parks & Recreation Department.
Parks & Recreation: Revisioning
Over time, Lehto helped develop the program into an effective community-driven initiative to improve health and wellness. In 2018, the city adopted “Healthy St. Pete” as an official division within the Parks & Recreation Department and solidified its commitment to community health. As the division’s coordinator, Lehto oversees numerous programs, and you’ll also find her directly participating in them. When she’s not working, you’re likely to find Lehto, husband Chris, daughter Riley, and stepson Harrison camping, biking, kayaking, or engaging in friendly neighborhood Nerf battles. “I’m where I should be,” she says.
