2023 Healthy Hometown Winners

Healthy Hometown - Baldwyn

Grant Awarded: $100,000

In its inaugural year as a Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation Healthy Hometown contender, the City of Baldwyn made significant strides in creating a healthy community for its citizenry. Quality work is being done by municipal leaders and the Baldwyn Healthy Hometown Committee to create opportunities for physical fitness and healthy eating, including community exercise classes, a farmers’ market and a community garden.

The City of Baldwyn hosts health fairs throughout the year to launch wellness initiatives, conduct preventive screenings and promote the benefits of tobacco-free lifestyles. Baldwyn Mayor Roslynn Clark created the popular monthly free event “Music with the Mayor” for those wanting to learn line dancing steps and participate in low impact aerobics. The city also partnered with the Mississippi State University Extension Service to provide healthy cooking classes, gardening and canning activities.

Baldwyn city leaders adopted a Complete Streets Policy to consider all modes of transportation, including walking and biking, before plans are made to construct new streets. The City also adopted site and design standards to ensure sidewalks are built in all new residential subdivisions and in new or redeveloping commercial and industrial projects.

With the $100,000 grant award, the City of Baldwyn plans to upgrade the city park with modern playground equipment.

Healthy Hometown - Wesson

Grant Awarded: $100,000

Municipal, college and school leaders in Wesson work cohesively to improve the health and well-being of the community. Home to Copiah-Lincoln Community College, the Town of Wesson’s health and wellness efforts extend well beyond the boundaries of the town and college through the leadership of Mayor Alton Shaw and the Wesson Healthy Hometown Committee. With students and alumni across the nation, the city’s wellness endeavors have a positive impact on the well-being of many individuals.

In Wesson, the opportunities to be active are plentiful. City-sponsored events such as Founder’s Day, an annual downtown event, includes a health fair and a 5K fun walk/run bringing participants to Wesson from across Mississippi and neighboring states. The annual Wesson Fall Festival hosted by city leaders includes fun family activities centered around games, friendly competitions and healthy snacks. On any given day, residents can be seen at the city park which offers amenities such as a lighted walking trail, playground and splash pad. A shaded nature trail and tennis courts are also available to the public.

Civic organizations have a strong presence in the community. The Wesson Garden Club established the “Butterbeans Club” to teach students in grades 3-6 how to be successful gardeners and raise crops for sustenance. Students learning responsibility through nurturing plants and building self-confidence from achieving goals are among the many positive outcomes of the program.

As a Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation Healthy Hometown Award winner, the Town of Wesson plans to use the $100,000 grant award to purchase a new play structure for the city park and extend the length of the public walking trail.