Community involvement helped Red Oak’s Blue Zone application

RED OAK – Community involvement helped propel Red Oak to the final round of the Blue Zone competition but local organizers don’t want residents to stop now.

Red Oak currently ranks 15th in Iowa for the percentage of residents who signed up to support the Blue Zone project at 24.39 percent. Residents can still pledge their support online at http://www.bluezonesproject.com/users/sign_up or by texting BZP to 772937.

“If anyone hasn’t registered yet, we would urge them to as soon as possible,” local Blue Zones supporter Larry Brandstetter said. “And we need to talk to our neighbors, friends and co-workers and tell them about the project and urge them to support it as well.”

Courtney Greene, a public relations manager with Wellmark/Blue Cross/Blue Shield attended the Blue Zones seminar in Harlan where several Red Oak community leaders attended wearing matching t-shirts in support of the program. The large group and the unity they displayed made a lasting impression on Blue Zones officials, including Greene.

“I saw first hand the excitement Red Oak generated and it was very organized,” she said. “That was a tremendous asset for the community … and the community engagement piece was a big factor in the selection process."

Red Oak is one of 10 small towns throughout Iowa selected for site visits, which will take place sometime this summer.

Greene said the exact criteria on how communities will be judged has yet to be determined, but said the visit will be announced beforehand. Members of the Blue Zones selection committee will meet with civic leaders to determine how committed and able the town is to achieving the health related initiatives.

In February, 10 large towns were selected for site visits, most of which have been completed.

“Some of the larger communities pulled out all the stops for the site visits,” Greene said. “That’s not expected of the smaller towns.”

In addition to meeting with community and civic leaders, Greene said the selection committee would welcome input from the general public as well.

“There is so much energy and enthusiasm surrounding this, if the public wants to be involved, that would be encouraged,” she said.

Brandstetter said Red Oak’s selection for a site visit is representative of what this community can do when working for a common goal.

“This site visit I think is aculmination showing Red Oak is an extremely competitive community ... and when we come together and work together, we can get a lot done,” he said. “We became a unified, collaborative community for one single purpose and that was to become a Blue Zone community.”