wellness the quality or state of being
in good health wellness is more than
being free from sickness illness in
various health conditions wellness is a
dynamic process of change and growth we
all know this saying that change is the
only constant in life and growth refers
to change in time and maturity if these
statements are factual why is it that as
we age we resist change and fear growth
over the last 15 years we’ve seen a rise
of medical costs and health care
expenses
across the United States we have also
watched the fast-food chains become more
of an every day and night convenience
for the busy parent raising their
children as a result of these poor
nutritional habits we have actually made
the United States one of the most
unhealthy places to live we have turned
Taco Tuesday into a national holiday and
our children well they’ve come to
glorify a Happy Meal we have watched our
generation change from cattle raisers
and farmers and homemakers two
generations fixated on fast easy and
cheap according to the American Heart
Association children between the ages of
3 & 5 will not outlive their parents so
I ask you now how do we reverse what
we’ve created generations not knowing
how to survive without modern technology
and a drive through and how are you and
I going to help to make generations
better around us I know my mission may
seem bold right some thin young
millennial discussing health and
wellness
she has had some severe health problems
herself although I may look like I know
nothing about binge eating comfort foods
or finding satisfaction in those
late-night desserts
I was once that girl I never had a
severe weight issue but as a child I
witnessed my father who was a truck
driver and my mother a local certified
nursing assistant everything was fast
frozen or on the go all the time my dad
Paul David Kennedy stood six feet four
inches tall weighing around 300 pounds
his nickname was Santa Claus and for
good reason his on-the-go eating habits
got the best of him and he suffered from
diabetes most of his life I can still
remember the day that I got the news it
was a typical Tuesday afternoon around
3:45 p.m. and I had arrived home from
the school bus this is my surprise I
seen my dad’s truck in the driveway
he wasn’t home often during the week he
ran routes from Miami to Jacksonville I
thought he was home for some big
surprise as I ran into the house my
mother sat there with sadness in her
eyes there is a weird worried fearful
feeling in the room I ran to my father
and he began to ask me the usual
questions how was your day what did you
learn how was school I knew at that
moment there was something different I
asked my father why are you home what’s
the surprise at 11 years old you can be
so naive my father told me he had a
mandatory doctor’s appointment that he
couldn’t miss typically the only time my
family went to the doctors or if they
were severely ill my father went on to
tell me that he had been diagnosed that
day with stage three pancreatic cancer
at the young age of 11 I didn’t quite
understand what cancer was I mean I knew
it was an illness but I didn’t
understand its power
over the next year and a half my life
would take a drastic turn for the worse
as my afternoons consisted of giving my
father insulin shots checking his blood
sugar levels cleaning cooking and
becoming a young adult at just 11 years
old I began to miss a lot of school and
my mother picked up a second job at the
local Family Dollar to make ends meet it
was to this day one of the hardest times
of my life my father Paul David Kennedy
lost his battle to cancer
June 18th 1999 on Father’s Day I don’t
tell you this for sympathy but I tell
you this to share with you where my
mission started oh I’m sure there were
other attributes that contributed
somebody the death of my dad but I know
I know if my dad would have cared as
much about his health as he did his cars
and his clothes and all the other
materialistic things his life would have
been prolonged throughout the family
tree history repeats itself as I watched
my brother Jeffrey Kennedy passed away
from a heart attack at the young age of
52 he was a local car salesman who
worked 70 hours a week he had the
beautiful house the lavish cars the ATVs
and decades of hard work under his belt
and when it came time to retire to enjoy
it all he never got the opportunity to
after watching my family suffer with so
many health related illnesses I knew I
had to make a change for my family and
for my future I knew I had to break the
cycle we see so many adults falling
short of their true potential to live a
life full of longevity and prosperity we
watch as they buy their expensive
clothes and beautiful homes and fancy
cars yet invest nothing into their most
promising asset their body the human
body is one of the most adverse and
dynamic mechanisms ever created
it’s intricate workings between the 11
organ systems and trillions of cells are
all apart of what keep us functioning
daily if we do not take care of those
cells those organs and those systems we
begin to have health problems like
cancer and diabetes and well heart
disease just to name a few in my
profession I get the question all the
time why is it so expensive to eat
healthy my response having a heart
attack is expensive chemotherapy is
expensive wait to get the bill for not
being healthy that’s expensive by a show
of hands in the room how many of you
change your oil service your cars and
shine your tires
ladies or gentlemen by a show of hands
how many of you get a pedicure get your
nails done get your hair done gentlemen
you can talk up to how many of you can
honestly say you spend more time money
and effort preserving your self-image
then you do your health
I have watched our society fill their
cars with the most expensive oils and
best gasses and then drive those
vehicles straight through the dollar
menu as if what is manifested on the
outside is worth more than the vessel
that carries your soul I know this may
sound silly but I know you only get one
opportunity one chance in one voice to
change the world as Martin Luther King
jr. had a dream to save the world from
racism I I have a dream to save the
world from obesity I have a dream that
one day our children will be free of
sickness and illness I have a dream that
one day our clinics will no longer be
full of unhealthy people but instead our
parks will be full of people living a
healthy active lifestyle I have a dream
that one day our community will thrive
and be able to educate communities
around us on better ways to make
healthier choices see I can’t do this
alone it starts with you you you you and
even you and me it starts with all of us
making a conscious decision to take care
of what matters most let’s make the
decision to educate our children to
choose the Apple over the cookie
let’s make the decision to enhance our
eating choices at the grocery store or
at the restaurant let’s make the
decision to enjoy cooking at home as a
family
perhaps you start a crock-pot before you
leave the house preparation is key to
success in all areas in life and right
now we need to be prepared more than
ever I am so grateful so grateful that I
had those experiences as a young adult
with my father and my brother I know in
my heart that all of those things I went
through as a young child have brought me
to this moment this point here with all
of you you see no matter what time
tick-tock tick-tock
time is going to pass it’s up to you to
say I am done making excuses it’s up to
you to say I am worthy of more it’s up
to you to make the decision to just
choose smarter eating choices smarter
eating choices the time is now there’s
never been a better time I mean let’s be
honest how many of you in here aren’t
feeling your best on a daily basis you
can change that
we can change that imagine the impact we
could have our generations to come think
about your grandchildren and their
grandchildren what kind of culture what
kind of future is going to be left for
them I pray that your daughter gets the
chance to walk down the aisle with her
father because I won’t get that chance
and I pray that she’ll be able to go to
the daddy-daughter dance because I never
did I know together we can make the
world a healthier and happier place to
live for generation
to come and I know together we can break
the cycle thank you
in good health wellness is more than
being free from sickness illness in
various health conditions wellness is a
dynamic process of change and growth we
all know this saying that change is the
only constant in life and growth refers
to change in time and maturity if these
statements are factual why is it that as
we age we resist change and fear growth
over the last 15 years we’ve seen a rise
of medical costs and health care
expenses
across the United States we have also
watched the fast-food chains become more
of an every day and night convenience
for the busy parent raising their
children as a result of these poor
nutritional habits we have actually made
the United States one of the most
unhealthy places to live we have turned
Taco Tuesday into a national holiday and
our children well they’ve come to
glorify a Happy Meal we have watched our
generation change from cattle raisers
and farmers and homemakers two
generations fixated on fast easy and
cheap according to the American Heart
Association children between the ages of
3 & 5 will not outlive their parents so
I ask you now how do we reverse what
we’ve created generations not knowing
how to survive without modern technology
and a drive through and how are you and
I going to help to make generations
better around us I know my mission may
seem bold right some thin young
millennial discussing health and
wellness
she has had some severe health problems
herself although I may look like I know
nothing about binge eating comfort foods
or finding satisfaction in those
late-night desserts
I was once that girl I never had a
severe weight issue but as a child I
witnessed my father who was a truck
driver and my mother a local certified
nursing assistant everything was fast
frozen or on the go all the time my dad
Paul David Kennedy stood six feet four
inches tall weighing around 300 pounds
his nickname was Santa Claus and for
good reason his on-the-go eating habits
got the best of him and he suffered from
diabetes most of his life I can still
remember the day that I got the news it
was a typical Tuesday afternoon around
3:45 p.m. and I had arrived home from
the school bus this is my surprise I
seen my dad’s truck in the driveway
he wasn’t home often during the week he
ran routes from Miami to Jacksonville I
thought he was home for some big
surprise as I ran into the house my
mother sat there with sadness in her
eyes there is a weird worried fearful
feeling in the room I ran to my father
and he began to ask me the usual
questions how was your day what did you
learn how was school I knew at that
moment there was something different I
asked my father why are you home what’s
the surprise at 11 years old you can be
so naive my father told me he had a
mandatory doctor’s appointment that he
couldn’t miss typically the only time my
family went to the doctors or if they
were severely ill my father went on to
tell me that he had been diagnosed that
day with stage three pancreatic cancer
at the young age of 11 I didn’t quite
understand what cancer was I mean I knew
it was an illness but I didn’t
understand its power
over the next year and a half my life
would take a drastic turn for the worse
as my afternoons consisted of giving my
father insulin shots checking his blood
sugar levels cleaning cooking and
becoming a young adult at just 11 years
old I began to miss a lot of school and
my mother picked up a second job at the
local Family Dollar to make ends meet it
was to this day one of the hardest times
of my life my father Paul David Kennedy
lost his battle to cancer
June 18th 1999 on Father’s Day I don’t
tell you this for sympathy but I tell
you this to share with you where my
mission started oh I’m sure there were
other attributes that contributed
somebody the death of my dad but I know
I know if my dad would have cared as
much about his health as he did his cars
and his clothes and all the other
materialistic things his life would have
been prolonged throughout the family
tree history repeats itself as I watched
my brother Jeffrey Kennedy passed away
from a heart attack at the young age of
52 he was a local car salesman who
worked 70 hours a week he had the
beautiful house the lavish cars the ATVs
and decades of hard work under his belt
and when it came time to retire to enjoy
it all he never got the opportunity to
after watching my family suffer with so
many health related illnesses I knew I
had to make a change for my family and
for my future I knew I had to break the
cycle we see so many adults falling
short of their true potential to live a
life full of longevity and prosperity we
watch as they buy their expensive
clothes and beautiful homes and fancy
cars yet invest nothing into their most
promising asset their body the human
body is one of the most adverse and
dynamic mechanisms ever created
it’s intricate workings between the 11
organ systems and trillions of cells are
all apart of what keep us functioning
daily if we do not take care of those
cells those organs and those systems we
begin to have health problems like
cancer and diabetes and well heart
disease just to name a few in my
profession I get the question all the
time why is it so expensive to eat
healthy my response having a heart
attack is expensive chemotherapy is
expensive wait to get the bill for not
being healthy that’s expensive by a show
of hands in the room how many of you
change your oil service your cars and
shine your tires
ladies or gentlemen by a show of hands
how many of you get a pedicure get your
nails done get your hair done gentlemen
you can talk up to how many of you can
honestly say you spend more time money
and effort preserving your self-image
then you do your health
I have watched our society fill their
cars with the most expensive oils and
best gasses and then drive those
vehicles straight through the dollar
menu as if what is manifested on the
outside is worth more than the vessel
that carries your soul I know this may
sound silly but I know you only get one
opportunity one chance in one voice to
change the world as Martin Luther King
jr. had a dream to save the world from
racism I I have a dream to save the
world from obesity I have a dream that
one day our children will be free of
sickness and illness I have a dream that
one day our clinics will no longer be
full of unhealthy people but instead our
parks will be full of people living a
healthy active lifestyle I have a dream
that one day our community will thrive
and be able to educate communities
around us on better ways to make
healthier choices see I can’t do this
alone it starts with you you you you and
even you and me it starts with all of us
making a conscious decision to take care
of what matters most let’s make the
decision to educate our children to
choose the Apple over the cookie
let’s make the decision to enhance our
eating choices at the grocery store or
at the restaurant let’s make the
decision to enjoy cooking at home as a
family
perhaps you start a crock-pot before you
leave the house preparation is key to
success in all areas in life and right
now we need to be prepared more than
ever I am so grateful so grateful that I
had those experiences as a young adult
with my father and my brother I know in
my heart that all of those things I went
through as a young child have brought me
to this moment this point here with all
of you you see no matter what time
tick-tock tick-tock
time is going to pass it’s up to you to
say I am done making excuses it’s up to
you to say I am worthy of more it’s up
to you to make the decision to just
choose smarter eating choices smarter
eating choices the time is now there’s
never been a better time I mean let’s be
honest how many of you in here aren’t
feeling your best on a daily basis you
can change that
we can change that imagine the impact we
could have our generations to come think
about your grandchildren and their
grandchildren what kind of culture what
kind of future is going to be left for
them I pray that your daughter gets the
chance to walk down the aisle with her
father because I won’t get that chance
and I pray that she’ll be able to go to
the daddy-daughter dance because I never
did I know together we can make the
world a healthier and happier place to
live for generation
to come and I know together we can break
the cycle thank you
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