Winners and achievers

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Group Anniversaries

2021 Bring a Bloke compeition winners

2021 Golden Shoe Winners

Survey Winners

 

Group anniversaries

Congratulations to all the walking groups which are celebrating a major milestone in December and January - here's to many more years of walking!

	December	January
1 Year	Banksia Medical Centre-My Clinic Walks, VIC East Lismore Walkers, NSW Gilmore Crew, NSW Let's Get Active Linville, QLD Townsville Hike & Explore Heart Foundation Walkers!, QLD	French Island Walking Group, VIC LET'S WALK AND TALK, VIC Walking Wednesdays, VIC
2 Years	Apia Steppin Out - Ballarat, VIC Apia Steppin Out - Coffs Harbour, NSW Ballarat Walk Talk & Repeat Sat 9.30am 5k Vic Park Walk, VIC Ballarat Walk Talk Coffee Repeat Friday 10am 3k Lake Walk, VIC Charles Green Walking Group, VIC Dandenong Ranges Walking Group, VIC Hills Doctors, NSW Hills Family General Practice, NSW Macarthur Heights Walking Group, NSW Mt Pleasant Men's Shed Walking Group, SA Walters Road Medical Centre, NSW	Brisk Walk - Mums, VIC Seven Hills Super Clinic, NSW Westfield Chermside, QLD
3 Years	Apia Steppin Out walking group - Shellharbour, NSW Tanah Merah Morning Walkers, QLD	Birtinya Beats, QLD Moana Coasters, SA
4 Years	Baldivis Pole Walking Group for Seniors, WA Harbour Family Chiropractic Walking Club, WA SWAGS (Sorell Walking Around Group), TAS	Burnside Briskers, SA East Gosford Pacemakers, NSW KGV Walk Group, NSW Stockland Hervey Bay, QLD
5 Years		Pumicestone Walkers, QLD Walk and Talk, SA
6 Years	Highgate Hill (Brisbane River) Walkers, QLD
7 Years	Aberfoyle Walkers, SA Coolum Beach Walking Group, QLD Coromandel Valley Walkers, SA Pinjarra Volunteer Walk Group, WA	Beechworth Walkers, VIC Echuca Zippers, VIC Unicorn Group, NSW
8 Years	ATSICHS Deadly Walkers, QLD Berrinba Trail Blazers, QLD Golden Oldies, SA Port Fairy HF Group, VIC	Beverley Walkers, WA Morphett Vale Walking Group, SA Stocklands Indoor Walk, VIC The Murgon Walkers, QLD WMG Walkers Group 2, VIC
9 Years	Holden Hill Community Group, SA	Maryborough CH Walkers, VIC
10 Years	Centenary Park WA, WA Hearty Alex Walkers, QLD Koo Wee Rup Evening Walkers, VIC Lincoln'ites', SA Morwell Walkers, VIC	Proston Walking Group, QLD Salisbury North, SA Walk-ability Stanhope, VIC
11 Years	Algester Walkers, QLD Brompton footers, SA Goulburn Walkers, NSW Point Cook Activity Group, VIC The Pines Mall Walkers, VIC Walking Talking, TAS	Huonville Heartbeats, TAS
12 Years	Hume 'R' Us Walkers, VIC Sorell Gourmet Walkers, TAS Treasures, VIC Zamia Walkers, WA	Morning Walk Yamba, NSW
13 Years	Curtin Walking Group, ACT Leschenault Walking, WA Monday Coffee Mugs, TAS Shellharbour Walkers, NSW Traralgon Walking, VIC
14 Years		Murwillumbah On The Move, NSW
15 Years	Semaphore Seniors, SA	Almond Tree Trackers, SA River Trekkers, SA
16 Years
17 Years
18 Years
19 Years		Boonah Walkers, QLD Brookside Walking Group, QLD
20+ Years	Toowoomba Hearty Ramblers, QLD	Hawthorne Happy Hikers, QLD

 

During the month of June we ran a 'Bring a Bloke' competition to acknowledge Men’s Health Week. All men who either joined a walking group or downloaded a PWP automatically went into the draw to win one of 6 $100 Bunnings gift cards……and the winners are:2021 Bring a Bloke compeition winners

• Trevor Dowie, VIC (Group walker)

• Russell Hawksworth, WA (Group walker)

• Michael Woodward, NSW (Group walker)

• Neville, NSW (PWP)

• Phillip, QLD (PWP)

• Craig, NSW (PWP)

2021 Golden Shoe Winners

The annual Golden Shoe Awards recognise the changes individuals are making towards a healthy lifestyle through walking. Congratulations to our 2021 walking heros!

Category: Courage and Commitment
Winner: Ian Watson, VIC

Three years ago, at the age of 72, Ian knew he had to make some changes in his life. Ian was severely overweight, which put him at risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions. He took up walking, exploring the streets around his suburb of Altona Meadows in Melbourne.

Keen to join a walking group, and being a Western Bulldogs fan, Ian contacted the club’s Sons of the West program to see if they had one.

The answer was no, but the club encouraged Ian to start a Heart Foundation Walking group in his area. Since its inception in May 2019, the Meadows Walkers has grown from two members to more than 90 and strides out together five times a week.

Ian is the group’s Walk Organiser. He enjoys the social interaction with other walking enthusiasts, along with the health benefits. Since he started walking regularly, Ian has lost an astounding 35 kilograms.

Category: Wellness Warrior
Winner: Ruby McGrow, NSW

Ruby arrived in Australia from the UK more than half a century ago and, never having driven, walking was how she got around. It kept her happy and healthy, but last year she found herself less physically active by sad necessity. 

Frank, her husband of 57 years, was very ill and she nursed him at home. Sadly, Frank passed away in June 2020. 

After she lost him, Ruby struggled to get motivated to be active. However, knowing Frank would not want her to mope about at their home in Sydney’s North Ryde, Ruby connected with Heart Foundation Walking at age 81.

Ruby prefers to walk by herself rather than in a group. She hits her local trails, aiming for 10,000 steps a day. Ruby is a prolific poster in the Heart Foundation Walking Facebook group, sharing pictures of vivid flowers, cool streams and sleepy lizards she encounters on her walks.

Category: Zero to Hero
Winner: Sharon Wood, QLD

From her first day with the Wishart Walkers in March 2018, Sharon proved herself to be a Heart Foundation Walking devotee. Each month, she consistently completes more walks than any other member, recently reaching a milestone of 1,500 walks.

When the Heart Foundation ran a challenge for members to clock up one million steps, Sharon was the first Queenslander and the fourth person nationally to complete it.

Sharon, 57, who is from the Brisbane suburb of Eight Miles Plains, also trained to be a volunteer Walk Organiser. So in addition to walking with her original group, she now also runs a second Wishart Walkers group, which has more than 30 members and walks seven afternoons a week.

Members find her an inspiration and a positive role model because of her walking consistency, thoughtfulness and meticulous recording of their walking statistics.

Category: Leadership
Winner: Carol Webb, NSW

Carol has been a member of the Illawarra Walkers for almost 15 years, and has been the group’s Walk Organiser for most of that time.

The group walks together every Tuesday morning after meeting at the North Wollongong Surf Lifesaving Club. There are about 40 members, but even if the weather is poor and only four come along, Carol will be one of them. Once, she even turned up with a broken ankle to record walkers’ names before they set off.

About seven years ago, Carol suggested that anyone wanting to donate to the Heart Foundation could put a gold coin in the kitty each week. To date, the group has donated almost $7000.

Carol, 78, is described as being quiet, reliable, encouraging and caring. She calls absent walkers to check they are okay and will wait for latecomers. Group members have a variety of abilities; Carol matches walkers together perfectly, so the distance covered and pace suits everyone.

The winners will each receive a gift card and a Golden Shoe Award pin.

Survey Winners

Thank you to everyone who completes our member surveys. The responses go a long way towards helping us improve the program. Congratulations to the following people who have won a gift voucher -

Our Annual Survey winners for 2020 are: Heather Fabris, Stockland Traralgon, Traralgon Walking Narelle Abbotts, Kempsey Walking Group Michael Dunne, Melton Sons (Walk Organiser); Watergardens Walkers Ronald Phillips, Bargara Beach Walkers (Walk Organiser) rDeslea Schneider, Stockland Striders (Walk Organiser)