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SITKA - The guest speaker for the second annual Sitka Health Summit, "Working Together for a Healthier Sitka," will be Dan Burden, a nationally known expert on building healthier communities. Burden is the executive director of Walkable Communities Inc., a founder of Bikecentennial Inc. (now called the Adventure Cycling Association), a former national advisory board member of the Active Living By Design program and a former National Geographic photographer who led a cycling expedition from Alaska to the Andes in the 1970s.

The Sitka Health Summit takes place from May 14-16 at various locations around Sitka this year. Sitka residents are invited to attend two community events - the Sitka Health Summit Community Dinner on Wednesday, May 14, at the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center, and the Next Steps: Community Planning Session on Thursday, May 15, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Doors open and the halibut dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday for the Sitka Health Summit Community Dinner. The $5 meal tickets are available through May 9 at six locations around town - Old Harbor Books, White's Pharmacy, Murray Pacific, the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center, Spenard Builders Supply and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska main office. The agenda includes a progress report on the goals from the 2007 Sitka Health Summit, a keynote address on "What Makes a Healthy Community" from Dan Burden, and several community awards for individual and group health role models and wellness champions.

The Next Steps: Community Planning Session takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday. This event is open to all interested Sitka community members. This is an opportunity for community members to help set Sitka's health goals for 2008-09 and develop an action plan for meeting those goals. The agenda includes a presentation on the state of Sitka's health, a short progress report on the goals from the 2007 Sitka Health Summit, a presentation from Dan Burden and examples of how other communities achieved similar goals.

The Sitka Health Summit is brought to you by Sitka Community Hospital, the consortium and the Steps to a Healthier Southeast Alaska program. The Summit's vision is "to serve our great state as a model for community wellness by creating a healthy community where all Sitkans strive for and enjoy a high quality of life. For more information about the summit, contact Grace Brooks at 966-8865 or grace.brooks@searhc.org, or go to our Web site at www.sitkahealthsummit.org.