THIS WEEK'S ISSUE
7/24/2010 7:00:00 AM
A Closer Look: Mark Yontz
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| Photo submitted |
| | Mark Yontz |
• About: Mark Yontz has been named PE4life's Iowa regional project manager. In that role, he will be responsible for the Kansas City, Mo.-based nonprofit organization's attempt to introduce its healthy lifestyles program in 50 elementary or secondary schools during the next three years. His background includes stints as public relations manager for the Iowa Division of Tourism, executive director of the Bob Feller Museum, public affairs and legislative liaison for State Farm Insurance and corporate communications and marketing director for Life Care Services LLC, where he also served as employee wellness coordinator. Yontz also owned a consulting business and was a loaned executive for United Way of Central Iowa during its 2009 campaign.
• Residence: Urbandale
• Education: University of Northern Iowa graduate
• Age: 42
• Family: Wife, Lynne; daughter, Paige, 12
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BY KENT DARR
Senior Staff Writer
You have worked for a number of organizations; what was your favorite job to this point?
It's hard to select one, because I have good memories about every position I've held, even the ones where I was downsized due to cutbacks. I've had a well-rounded, interesting career, so I tend to look back on all of them as being important parts of who I am today.
What drew you to PE4life?
I saw this as a good opportunity to help an organization become more established here in Iowa, so I'm excited about the challenges associated with this endeavor. Plus, it will allow me to work with a wide variety of people throughout the state and have a positive impact on the lives of children.
What are basic goals of PE4life?
Bottom line, we want to help effect positive change in the lives of children when it comes to their overall health and fitness, and we do this by helping enhance the experiences children have in physical education classrooms. In short, we work directly with school administrators and physical educators and offer assistance and guidance in developing new approaches to the delivery of physical education programs at all grade levels.
How will you measure the program's success?
One key measure will be how many schools we can get on board and trained through our Adopt-A-School Challenge, with foundational funding committed by Hy-Vee, Wellmark, Iowa Health System and the Iowa Business Council. Through this effort alone, we have an opportunity to positively impact thousands of Iowa students and engage a wide variety of community partners in the coming years. But there are many other yet-to-be-explored partnership and programming opportunities statewide, so there will undoubtedly be many other ways for us to help address things like childhood obesity and the overall wellness and fitness of children here in Iowa.
How is the rollout progressing in getting the program into Iowa schools?
We already have developed relationships with schools in Ankeny, Des Moines, Norwalk, Pella and Grundy Center, all of which are ready to serve as model schools and training sites as new schools come on board and adopt PE4life principles into their PE curriculum. Grundy Center has actually served as a PE4life Academy Training Center for a number of years and has been recognized nationally and internationally as an exemplary program. All the model sites will be great contributors in taking the Adopt-A-Schoo Challenge to a great level. In the coming weeks, we will be announcing the first 10 schools to benefit from the Adopt-A-School Challenge, with another 10 to be announced after the first of the year ... with the end goal being 50 schools "adopted" over the next three years across the state.
Are you attempting to instill a sense of the importance of fitness in your daughter?
Absolutely, but it's not all about fitness. My daughter, or for that matter, anyone who's interested in listening, might hear me talk about the importance of healthy living ... everything from good exercise and training techniques to proper nutrition and the importance of rest. ... My daughter has been dancing - ballet, tap, jazz - since she was a toddler and is now really getting into competitive volleyball. She also enjoys indoor rock climbing.
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