April 2019 – The MPO welcomed the Aetna Foundation to the March Board meeting. A $50,000 award to keep planting the seeds for a healthier community through our #GardenSteps initiative was presented. We are honored and proud to be a national #HealthiestCitiesChallenge runner up! The Challenge is a collaboration between the Aetna Foundation, the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the National Association of Counties (NACo) empowering 50 small to midsize U.S. cities and counties to make measurable, scalable improvements to public health issues in their local communities. Special thanks to our partners, many of whom joined us for the award presentation – the City of Tampa, Florida Department of Health – Hillsborough County, Planning Commission, HART, and the Coalition of Community Gardens.
