The success of the initial run of the Beau-Fitt program at Beaufort County Community College means that it is returning for a second year.

The program will kick off once more on Sept. 20 at the Washington waterfront’s Festival Park from 4-5 p.m. Dance instructor Christine Winstead will help move the participants at the opening event. Community members, students and BCCC employees are welcome and can receive new fit bands.

Last year’s participants are a little slimmer today, thanks to the progress made through the Beau-Fitt program. BCCC received a $150,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to put in the IM-FITT natural walking trail and three fitness stations with outdoor exercise equipment. The MDC Trust granted another $25,000 to build a fourth station and host the Healthy Speaking Series, where community members came to learn cooking or take exercise classes.

The program served 124 people, 21 of them students, 72 faculty and staff members and 31 from the community. Participants could opt to wear a fit band and have a health assessment before and after participating in the program. Forty-six participants opted to do so, the majority of which were faculty and staff at BCCC.

The participants learned healthy eating habits, won prizes on the fitness trail, practiced yoga and Cross-Fit. During the eight-month period, they took 54 million steps total, the equivalent of walking around the planet. The top walker was Serena Sullivan who took more than 2 million steps. Twenty-three participants took more than 1 million steps. The top weight loss was Jennie Singleton, who lost close to 40 pounds. All of the participants lost a combined 150 pounds.

An average of 28 people per day walk the new fitness trail. BCCC’s IM-FITT 1-mile fitness trail with exercise stations is open to the public, and there is information at each piece of equipment about how to use it and what muscle groups are targeted.

The Beau-Fitt program is an initiative to help improve health outcomes community-wide in Beaufort County. According to a 2014 community health assessment, Beaufort County has higher rates of mortality from lung and prostate cancer, stroke and heart disease than the North Carolina average. The program hopes to excite community members about healthier eating and physical fitness.

For more information about BCCC’s fitness trail and a schedule of events for the Get Beau-Fitt Campaign, visit www.BeaufortCCC.edu/IMFITT, contact Ron Baldwin at 252-940-6278 or BCCC Special Projects Coordinator Julia Crippen at 252-940-6271 or Julia.Crippen@BeaufortCCC.edu.