About 850 participants were expected at Saturday’s American Heart Association’s Jones County Start! Heart Walk, but Friday night’s heavy rain and early Saturday morning showers reduced the number of participants to about 350.

“That’s a good number for us, especially considering what we were faced with,” said Becky Ginn, the American Heart Association’s Vice President of Field Services. “We were under a tornado watch for much of Friday.

“It was pouring down rain when I got here at 6 a.m. to set up,” she added. “It slowed us down a little, but everything is going well.”

Ginn added that Jones County residents have always been supportive of heart walks in their community. Ginn said she does eight walks a year and Jones County tops them all.

“The community here always backs what you are trying to do,” she said. “You can easily tell the people here love their community and they love each other. That’s why I believe we have been so successful here.”

Ginn added that Jones County residents are so committed that many of them showed up at 6 a.m. Saturday anxious to do whatever they could to help. “They were here bright and early asking, ‘What can I do?’ ‘Do you need me to do this?’ ‘Do you need me to do that?’

“I appreciate them all,” said Ginn.

The walk, which was initially scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m., got under way at about 8:30 a.m. It was held at the Jones County Junior College Bobcat Practice Field. Jones County Sheriff Alex Hodge served as chairman of the event, with JCJC President, Dr. Jesse Smith, slated to take over the reign of chairman at next year’s event.

“Thank you for being here today,” Smith told the crowd. “Your participation shows a true commitment to stepping out and saving lives.

“We are here today to celebrate our success in raising contributions to benefit the American Heart Association. It is the mission of the Heart Association to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.”

Smith added that the college is honored to help the Jones County community by promoting awareness and raising funds to address a disease that has affected every family in the community.

Ginn noted that 48 percent of the deaths in Jones County are the result of heart disease. “With the funds raised through this walk, we have money to fund more research to save lives,” she said. “Through this walk, we are also able to touch more people in the community and make them more aware of heart disease.”

David Townsend, coordinator of the program at South Central Regional Medical Center, said heart disease is perhaps the No. 1 killer in Mississippi. He noted that contributing factors are genetics.

“On top of heart disease is obesity,” explained Townsend. “Mississippi is now the most obese state in the nation.

“The best way to combat obesity and heart disease is diet and exercise. I suggest that people exercise at least 30 minutes for a minimum of two days a week.” However, Townsend noted that there is no maximum amount of exercise.

Eve Elias, Regional Director of the American Heart Association and Heart Walk coordinator, said SCRMC is the Healthy Heart sponsor for the walk. Hospital personnel were on hand to provide information about maintaining a healthy heart and lifestyle.

According to Elias, each year, 1.2 million Americans will suffer a coronary attack and 700,000 will have a stroke. A leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke is lack of physical activity. By simply moving more, individuals can reduce healthcare costs, increase productivity and improve their overall quality of life and longevity.

Elias expressed gratitude to SCRMC team members and the other 21 teams for supporting the walk. “As of our early ‘Bank Night’ (Thursday) we had $75,000, which is phenomenal,” she said. “The community is wonderful and so giving and caring.”

Hodge recognized the top teams that turned in the most money on ‘Bank Night.’ The No. 1 fundraiser was Abby’s Angels, Abby Howard and Abby Bass, with $14,145. Second place went to South Central Regional Medical Center with $12,761. Third place is a tight race between Jones County Junior College with $6,063 and Jefferson Medical Associates with $6,000.

“The money raised at this event will help fund the medical miracles of tomorrow,” said Hodge. “People may not know this, but last year the American Heart Association donated over $1 million to the state of Mississippi and over $2,000 of that million was granted to a researcher at USM (the University of Southern Mississippi) in Hattiesburg.”