WALK/RUN RIO VISTA! - Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009
"What a great event!...When's the next one?"

It was billed as a way to 'Start Your Heart' right on Valentines' Day...a 'just for fun' walk (or run!) around our beautiful neighborhood. Our 1st Annual 'WALK/RUN RIO VISTA!' event turned out to be all of that and more for the 140+ Rio Vista residents who showed up at Virginia Young Park at 8:00am on a gorgeous Saturday morning wearing their RIO VISTA! tee shirts and Valentine's Day red!

Sponsored by our Rio Vista Civic Association, with the help of the City's Parks & Recreation Dept., initial estimates for the totally FREE event were for 50-75 participants to take part...after all, it was a 1st time event for the neighborhood. But by late afternoon on Friday the 13th, those estimates had been blown away...with over 130 residents already registering online on the Association's website or via fax and the promise of more walkups on Saturday.

It was truly an amazing day all around, with THE ZOO HEALTH CLUB sponsoring the free water in the park and in coolers on golf carts roaming throughout the event...and their fitness trainers kicked activities off with a 10-minute warmup exercise session for everyone just prior to the start.

And then the fun really began...with a loud, sharp police whistle blown by Fort Lauderdale Mounted Unit Officer Duval Madrigal from his saddle on top of his beautiful police horse, 'Comanche'. As everyone snapped to attention, he and Comanche rounded everyone up and led them to the starting line! It was quite a sight to see everyone fall in behind our Mounted Officer...and I have to say a very special 'Thank You!' to Officer Madrigal for bringing Comanche. He had to be one of the biggest hits of the event for everyone...but especially the kids...and Comanche even did a little 'running' against some of the more energetic ones who wanted to 'race' him!! :)

The runners took off first, led through their 5K course (designed by WALK/RUN RIO VISTA! Co-Chair, Bev Cannon..Kudos, Bev!!), by a golf cart driven by volunteer Ted Bertolett. The walking group started immediately after the runners, falling in behind the flashing lights of Sgt. Steve Scelfo of the Fort Lauderdale Police Dept. in his police cruiser. With Officer Madrigal on Comanche, and Sgt. Scelfo in his cruiser, the two officers led the way through our streets, making sure the intersections and traffic were safe and secure for everyone. Volunteers John Baker of Southern Custom Carts and Chris Cannon, attorney and husband of event co-chair, Bev Cannon, were extremely popular guys as they patrolled courses in their 'street legal' golf carts with coolers of ice-cold water for the participants.

A little while later, as the runners and walkers hit the 'finish line', they were cheered on and photographed 'breaking the tape', held enthusiastically by THE ZOO Health Club trainers! Smiles and laughs were everywhere as the finshers 'broke the tape'...and it was so popular, we even saw a couple of 'do-overs'!

In the aftermath, as everyone cooled down and the event wound down, the comment heard over and over again from almost everyone attending was: 'What a great event! When's the next one?'...and I suddenly realized, standing along with my fellow volunteers who made it all possible, that we'd ALL been continually smiling, laughing and grinning with our friends and neighbors for the past two hours!

And there's something very special about that! It was a great way to meet neighbors, see those you might not see often enough and enjoy the beauty of our neighborhood with an early morning stroll.

We're very pleased to report that the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation Dept. will be using our 'WALK/RUN RIO VISTA!' event as a model and example for other city neighborhoods to follow in creating their own neighborhood 'WALK/RUN' events!

As the old saying goes, 'Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.' Congratulations, Rio Vista! What a great neighborhood this is!