A large contingency of

Fayette Countians will be walking in the American Heart

Association's Heart Walk Nov. 7. This year the Fayette

County team representation will be the highest ever. Over

27 teams of 10 to 25 walkers have been raising money to

help fight heart disease and stroke.

Team members have a special

incentive this year - those who raise $1,000 or more

for the AHA will be given a four-day cruise for two to

the Bahamas. Team captains will receive trips if their

teams double the goals they set when they were formed.

Those winning a cruise can choose from one of three

cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, Carnival or The Big Red

Boat and can sail from either Port Canaveral or Miami.

This year, J.D. Holmes

agreed to be the chairman for the Fayette County Heart

Walk effort. He recruited a number of vice chairmen

- Marie Schlosser, Ron Duffey, Janet McGregor, Paul

Oddo, Jim Daughtry and Jim Watkins - to assist in

getting volunteers to walk. While the final results will

not be known until after the Heart Walk, thus far

thousands of dollars have been raised in Fayette County

for the AHA.

Cooper Lighting not only

has teams, but has made a corporate donation for to the

Fayette County Heart Association. To raise money,

volunteers are doing some unusual things.

Gold's Gym hosted a Heart

of Gold Golf Tournament to raise money. One local

newspaper is recognizing donations in its pages. One

group held a car wash. Others are selling red and gold

hearts for donations. Many are doing their fund-raising

the "old-fashioned" way - they are asking

for money. Two teams "teamed up" and hosted a

yard sale, raising over $600 for the walk.

Local civic groups have

made donations. The Metro Kiwanis recently presented the

board a check for $700.

The Peachtree City

Kiwanians will be making an annual donation in the near

future.

A number of businesses are

unable to participate in the Heart Walk but are raising

money for the Heart Association in other ways. The

Have-a-Heart fund-raiser is one that can be done at any

time of the year, but typically the Fayette Board

combines it with its two main fund-raising efforts, the

Heart Walk and the Celebrity Celebration.

The Wyndham Peachtree

Conference Center, SouthTrust Bank, the Hampton Inn and

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites are a few who have opted to

sell the red and gold hearts in October. The hearts are

sold for various amounts, usually $1 for the red hearts

and $5 or more for the gold hearts. The hearts are posted

on walls, counters or some other visible place through

the duration of the promotion.

Peachtree National Bank

plans to have at least one team of walkers. Ron Duffey,

president and CEO, is actively supporting the efforts of

the Heart Association. Duffey and the bank have long been

supporters of the Heart Association.

However, when Duffey

suffered a heart attack in March of this year, the

importance of the AHA became personal. Duffey worked out

regularly prior to the attack, was not overweight, did

not drink heavily, and was not a smoker. Heredity was a

major factor in Duffey's heart attack.

Duffey noted, "One of

the first things I did after my heart attack was find out

how to go about making a contribution to the American

Heart Association. They provided me and my wife with a

lot of good information after the attack."

To help raise money for the

Heart Walk, the bank had a casual day in which employees

paid for the privilege of wearing jeans and T-shirts.

If you would like to walk

Nov. 7, phone J.D. Holmes at 770-631-9258 or one of the

team captains listed below.

Those raising $100 will

receive a t-shirt. Other prizes, including luggage,

watches, cameras, will be given based on the amount

raised.

Heart

Walk info -

- Sunday, Nov. 7. at

Turner Field

- Registration begins

at 11:30 a.m.

-The Walk begins at 2

p.m.

- The Fayette County

teams will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Gold's Gym Peachtree

City (corner of Hwy. 74 and

Aberdeen Parkway) to car

pool to the walk. There will be a tent for the Fayette

County teams at Turner Field.

- Those walking are

asked to bring a snack to share with other Fayette County

walkers.

- For information call

J.D. Holmes at 770-631-9258.

Teams

and team captains :

Fayette County Republican

Party - Eric Dial

Small Business Council of

the Chamber of Commerce - Janet McGregor

Small Business Council of

the Chamber of Commerce - Rosemarie Beebe

The Fayette Daily News - Athena

Hamlin

Gold's Gym Peachtree City

(two teams) - Deborah Bonner

Gold's Gym Fayette - Steve

Clarke

Fayette Community Hospital

- Ryan Duffy

Cooper Lighting - Eve

Gray

SouthTrust Banks - Ann

McClellan

Coweta-Fayette EMC - Michele

Turner

Pathway Communities - Sandra

Prince

Fayette County Board of

Education - Carolyn Bell

Fayette County Board of

Education - Becky Wilder

Fayette County Board of

Education - Diane Lester

Fayette County Board of

Education - Sandy Laffan

Fayette County Board of

Education - Jeri Drake

Hoshizaki - Pat Confer

Fayette Medical - Ellen

Nichols

Goody Products - Darlene

Porter

Peachtree National Bank - Eileen

Kemp

PowerTel - Kristy Price

Regions Bnk - Brian

Featherston

VoxCom - Amy McRee

Noble Investments - Glenn

Winselett

Paul Oddo CPA - Paul

Oddo

Wyndham Peachtree

Conference Center - Susan Beckworth, Darlene Espinosa

Fayette Family Fitness (now

Impact) - Ron Shaw

Rotary Club of Peachtree

City - Jim Watkins

Seimens - Lindsay

Harrelston