The construction of a new campus walking trail along with upgrades to the Damon Fitness Center will soon take place at Meridian Community College, thanks to a $244,000 grant awarded to MCC by the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. The award was recently announced by Shelia Grogan, Executive Director of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation.

“We are excited to be a part of MCC’s wellness journey and its efforts to provide a healthy environment to learn, work and live in the Meridian community,” Grogan said. “These enhanced resources focused on health and well-being for students, staff and the community will help to shape a healthy future for Mississippi.”

MCC launched a college-wide wellness initiative this school year, which included exercise classes for employees and designation of the campus as tobacco-free, which went into effect May 13, according to Dr. Scott Elliott, MCC President. Elliott said the grant will “further enhance MCC’s wellness program.”

“We are honored and appreciative to have received this grant,” Elliott said. “We want to thank the Foundation for its support, which will enable MCC to offer even greater opportunities to our students, employees and the community in the realm of wellness.”

Elliott credited MCC Dean of Student Services Soraya Welden, Fitness Center Director Wade Heggie and Physical Plant Director Adam Foreman for spearheading the college’s grant initiative. Besides the campus walking trail, the grant will provide for the purchase of several much-needed pieces of exercise equipment for the fitness center.

“The Damon Fitness Center is used exhaustively by students, staff and community members at-large,” Elliott said. “With the volume of use it gets, equipment naturally wears out. Given the budget reductions the college has endured, MCC just didn’t have the funds to replace and upgrade a lot of that equipment. So, this grant comes to our rescue and couldn’t be more timely. We’ll be able to now add things like spinning classes that would not have otherwise been possible.”

MCC actually started a model employee wellness program some years ago, providing employees with three hours per week “on the clock” to engage in exercise activities, such as walking, water aerobics and yoga classes. Elliott explained that that the employee wellness benefit is intended to increase productivity and well-being.

“A healthier employee is a more productive employee for the State of Mississippi,” Elliott contended. “That’s why our Board of Trustees supported the policy some years ago. But this year we determined to up our game with the tobacco-free campus policy and actual credit classes for employees to establish an atmosphere of greater accountability on exercise regimens. Also, our students got on board when our Phi Theta Kappa chapter, led by Phyllis Holladay and Lucy Ferguson, determined to promote wellness as its annual project.”

“Suffice it to say,” Elliott concluded, “MCC is endeavoring to develop a model wellness program that will have a positive impact on our campus community and our greater community. The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation grant will go a long way toward helping us reach that goal.”

Grogan described MCC’s program as “a partnership” with the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, and added, “The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation is committed to supporting Mississippi’s universities and colleges in implementing healthy eating and exercise initiatives that extend from the campus to the local communities and schools.”

Anyone interested learning more about the work of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation can access information at www.healthiermississippi.org.