LANSING, MI — Over a thousand young people came to the Capitol in Lansing this morning to join parents, teachers and lawmakers for a giant exercise party. For the fifth year in a row, House Speaker Pro Tempore Michael G. Sak, D-Grand Rapids, invited children from nine Lansing area schools to take part in “All Children Exercising Simultaneously (ACES) w/ a Friend at the Capitol.”

Sponsors of the event were the YMCA of Greater Lansing, PepsiCo, Farm Bureau Insurance and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.

At 9:30 a.m., just over a thousand students arrived on the east lawn of the Capitol and participated in a 45-minute exercise program designed to get them started on what organizers hope will be a lifelong fitness regimen. While the students warmed up, Michigan Surgeon General Kimberlydawn Wisdom told them that it is important they exercise for about an hour each day and encouraged them to remind the grown-ups that they should be active for at least a half hour each day. The surgeon general reminded the crowd that especially during the summer months when school is out, the kids need to turn off the video games and the television and go outside and move around.

Continued – The children were joined by many adults. In the crowd were teachers, fitness instructors from the branches of the YMCA of Greater Lansing and several representatives and senators.

Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, was there. While she admitted she was overdressed for the event, the 68th District representative said she was glad to see so many of her young constituents there. One YMCA official labeled the event “fantastic” and said he hopes it will encourage young people all over the state to get active.

“It’s always a great experience to take part in the world’s largest exercise class,” organizer Sak said. He also said: “The ACES program is a great way to get our kids up and moving around while at the same time promoting a healthy lifestyle. If the ACES w/ Friends program can educate our children and help them make healthier decisions, we can help reverse the trend of unhealthiness in America.”

According to Sak’s office, ACES began in 1989 when a New Jersey physical education teacher wanted to show the importance of physical education in school. At the time, the goal was to have one school in every state join together at the same time in having their students exercise. Now, on the first Wednesday in May, millions of schoolchildren all over the world exercise simultaneously, demonstrating physical fitness and unity. In addition to educating the children about lifelong fitness in a fun and noncompetitive way, ACES aims to increase public awareness in all age groups about how exercise can lower the chances of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and physical inactivity.

Schools from the Lansing area that participated in the event were:

Resurrection School, Lansing

Holt Lutheran School, Holt

Attwood Elementary School, Lansing

Bingham Elementary School, Lansing

Cumberland Elementary School, Lansing

Lewton Elementary School, Lansing

Marble Elementary School, East Lansing

Wexford Elementary School, Wexford

Lyons Elementary School, Lansing

Legislative co-chairs for the event were State Reps. Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee; Edward Gaffney, R-Grosse Pointe Farms; and Mike Simpson, D-Jackson, along with State Sens. Deb Cherry, D-Burton; Tom George, R-Kalamazoo; and Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods.

For more information on ACES visit www.projectaces.com.