CrossRoadsNews, January 21, 2012 - Section B

Health & Wellness Expo - Jan. 28, 2012 January 21, 2012

Section B

www.crossroadsnews.com

Time To Get Active

Fitness training takes center stage during the Fitness FaceOff at the 2012 Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo Noon to 5 p.m., lower level, the Mall at Stonecrest n Free health screenings

n Dancers

n Fitness demonstrations

n Elected officials

n Musical performances

n Door prizes

n Information presentations by doctors

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CrossRoadsNews

Health & Wellness

January 21, 2012

Like any machine, the body needs to be in motion to keep in motion.

Trainers, dancers to motivate and entertain 2346 Candler Road Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.Cross­Roads­News.com editor@Cross­Roads­News.com

The Health and Wellness Expo Special Section is a publication of Cross­Roads­News Inc., East Metro Atlanta’s award-winning weekly newspaper.

Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker Graphics Editor Curtis Parker Reporters Carla Parker Jennifer Ffrench Parker

© 2012 Cross­Roads­News, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without written permission of the publisher.

Circulation Audited By

So you have known for ages that you need to incorporate more movement into your life, but you have been crippled by procrastination.

Well, you are not alone, and the 2012 CrossRoadsNews Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo is here to help.

Jennifer Parker, editor and publisher of CrossRoadsNews, says that during the expo, which takes place noon to 5 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Mall at Stonecrest, all the focus will be on getting children, youth and adults moving so that they can live a more active and healthy life.

“We know that it is sometimes hard to get our exercise on,” Parker said. “That is why we will show you through the examples of others how fun and easy it can be to get started.”

The expo kicks off at noon with exercise motivator Rae Rae Clark and the Eagle Essence Dance Troupe from Atlanta’s Whitefoord Elementary School.

Like any machine, the body needs to be in motion to keep in motion, so personal trainers, fitness trainers and exercise coaches will demonstrate the moves they use to motivate clients to exercise weekly. The demos will be done during the 2012 Fitness FaceOff, which takes off at 1 p.m. from the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level.

Eight contestants will vie for the Fitness FaceOff Trophy and a grand prize of a table at the April 28 Best of East Metro/Small Business Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

A panel of celebrity judges will select a winner. For a look at this year’s competitors, see pages B8-B11.

Throughout the five-hour expo, every performance and demonstration from the stage will be focused on encouraging children, youth and adults to get busy, be more active, and eat food that will feed their bodies rather than harm them. And the operative word will be fun.

The dancers, trainers and Life Chef Asata

High-stepping expo participants bring intensity to an aerobics workout at the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia. This year’s action takes place on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the lower level.

Reid will demonstrate how easy and enjoyable it can be to exercise and cook and eat healthy food.

Performers will range from 8-year-old dancers with Jenae’s Dance Experience to 70ish line dancers. This year, the Sassy Divas, a line-stepping female group, will show women that they can be as sexy as those booty-shaking geezers in the Beulah Boys.

This year’s title sponsors are Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, DeKalb Medical, and 100 Black Women Decatur-DeKalb Chapter.

Nearly three dozen exhibitors, including hospitals, health centers, physicians, dentists and other health care professionals, health insurers, training institutes, and government agencies will discuss health issues and offer resources on some of the issues that plague

our community.

Expo-goers will have their pick of free screenings for diabetes, hypertension, HIV/ AIDS, vision, and BMI. There will be flu shots, a detox foot bath demonstration, and point-of-pain and biochemistry checks.

Parker says beauty was added to the name of the expo, which is in its seventh year, to showcase spas and beauty providers.

The Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo is one of four community expos that CrossRoadsNews stages annually at the 1.3 million-square-foot Lithonia mall. The others are the Summer Camp Expo in March, the Small Business Expo in April, and the Family & Adoption Expo in August.

Since its launch in 2006, the Health & Wellness Expo has attracted up to 10,000 people to the mall every January.

2012 Health & Wellness Expo Exhibitors and Grand Prize Entry Form Visit at least 15 of these exhibitors* at the Mall at Stonecrest and enter to win a Grand Prize Gift Basket at the 2012 Health & Wellness Expo. Drawing takes place on Jan. 28, 2012, at 4:45 p.m. at the Main Stage in front of Sears on the lower level of the Mall at Stonecrest.

5100 Black Women Decatur-DeKalb Chapter 5American Family Insurance 5Amerigroup 5Amerigroup Community Care 5Atlanta Access Care 5Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates 5Auto Club South 5Bank of America 5Bankers Life & Casualty 5Children’s Dentistry at Stonecrest 5Children’s Healthcare at Hughes Spalding 5Children’s Medical Central 5Congressman Hank Johnson

5Craig B. Williams DDS 5CrossRoadsNews 5Decatur Pediatric Group 5DeKalb Co. Solicitor General Sherry Boston 5DeKalb District Attorney Robert James 5DeKalb Medical 5Dental Touch 5Full Body Loving Care Chiropractic 5Georgia Preventive Health 5Healthy Living DeKalb 5Injury 2 Wellness Center 5Jas Links Healthcare Services 5Kaiser Permanente

5Oakhurst Medical Centers 5Omnitech 5Optimal Health & Wellness 5Organic Root Stimulator 5Premier Women’s Healthcare 5Rae Rae Clark, fitness motivator 5Rehab Works & Wellness 5Rotary of South DeKalb 5Samson’s Health & Fitness Center 5STAND Inc. 5Source Care Management – DeKalb 5The Joy of Soul Food 5The Spa at Stonecrest

Name ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City _____________________________________________ E-mail_______________________________________________________________________ Home phone _________________________________________________ Cell ___________________________________________________________ * Eligible entries must be validated by at least 15 exhibitors and must include your complete name, address, e-mail address and telephone number. Employees and immediate family members of CrossRoadsNews and the Mall at Stonecrest are excluded from winning. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. You MUST be present to win.

January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness

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CrossRoadsNews

2012 Health & Wellness Expo Program Highlights Jan. 28, 2012 • Noon to 5 p.m. • The Main Stage in front of Sears Lower Level, The Mall at Stonecrest Noon

Expo kickoff/warmup exercises with Rae Rae & the Eagle Essence Dance Troupe and Louis Bell, vocalist

12:30 p.m. Greetings from the Office of 4th District Congressman Hank Johnson 1 p.m.

Fitness FaceOff Competition with fitness motivator Rae Rae Clark

2:45 p.m. Top Notch Dance Krew 3 p.m. Diabetic food demo with Life Chef Asata Reid Eagle Essence Dance Troupe

3:30 p.m. 100 Black Women DecaturDeKalb, Norma Johnson, president Life Chef Asata Reid

2:20 p.m. Sassy Divas Line Dancers

Sassy Divas

3:45 p.m. Jenae’s Dance Experience

S. Elizabeth Ford

2:30 p.m. Dr. S. Elizabeth Ford, district health director, DeKalb Board of Health

Jenae’s Dance Experience

4 p.m.

Beulah Boys Line Dancers

4:45 p.m. Grand Prize drawing 5 p.m.

Expo ends

The Beulah Boys

The last thing the community needed was “just another hospital.”

Sure a state-of-the-art facility close to home would be appreciated. But what was equally important was building a place that would remind patients of the care that had disappeared from healthcare. So beyond simply launching the first all-digital master planned hospital in Georgia, we set out to give patients everything from access to a talented pool of doctors and dedicated support staff, who would engage them in their treatment, to free parking and amazing food. See, before DeKalb Medical at Hillandale was even established, we asked ourselves, “What can we do differently? What can we do better than them?” And we still ask ourselves those two questions every day. Because as far as we’re concerned, good could never be good enough.

To learn more, visit www.dekalbmedicalhillandale.org

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CrossRoadsNews

Health & Wellness Expo

January 21, 2012

“It says that the sky is the limit and that you can be anything you want. You just have to dream it first.”

Vocalist puts his stamp on ‘Impossible Dream’

Former Atlanta firefighter Louis Bell will sing at the expo kickoff at noon on Jan. 28. He has been singing since age 5. ”I like soul music and R&B,” he said.

Louis Bell has been singing for as far back as he can remember.

“I think I started at 5 years old,” he said. “I can remember in the first grade, my teacher found out I could sing, and I was performing Lou Rawls ‘Tobacco Road’ all the time at school.”

But as talented as he was, Bell didn’t become a professional singer.

Instead, he went into firefighting and sang in the choir at Greenforest Baptist Church, where he has been a member since 1988.

He also sang whenever and wherever people asked him to. That included at weddings, funerals, anniversaries, christenings and so on.

“I like soul music and R&B,” he said.

In 2008, Bell retired from the Atlanta Fire Department after 31 years of service. The Decatur resident started a carpet cleaning business and now spends a lot of time singing at events.

Fans say he has put his stamp on the song “The Impossible Dream (The Quest).”

He will sing it on Jan. 28 during the kickoff for the 2012 Cross­Roads­ News Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo with Rae Rae Clark.

Bell says he likes to sing “The Impossible Dream” because it’s an inspirational song with a positive message.

“It says that the sky is the limit and that you can be anything you want.

You just have to dream it first.”

The expo takes place on the lower level of the Mall at Stonecrest between noon and 5 p.m.

“The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office strives to offer citizens prevention, protection and peace of mind to support your health and wellness goals in 2012.”

Fitness FaceOff a good fit Rae Rae Clark has spent most of her adult life motivating and inspiring the young and the old, and those in between to move it, move it.

And if you won’t take her word for it, she hopes you will follow the examples of the eight trainers and coaches who will showcase their exercise routines during the 2012 Rae Rae Clark Fitness FaceOff at the Cross­Roads­ News Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo, Jan. 28 at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Clark will emcee the competition at 1 p.m. from the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level.

But before that, she and the Eagle Essence Dancers from Whitefoord Elementary School will showcase the “Sassy Classy Hustle,” a five-minute upbeat cardio workout she created and debuted last year at the expo to help her reach her goal of touching a million people with her message about the benefits of exercise and movement.

Veteran expo emcee Pamela Holmes has hosted so many CrossRoadsNews Community Expos at the Mall at Stonecrest, she has lost count.

Holmes will be back on stage at the 2012 Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo starting at 2 p.m., after the 2012 Fitness FaceOff Champion is crowned, and will shepherd the rest Pamela Holmes of the expo to its end at 5 p.m.

When she is not on stage at the Mall at Stonecrest, Holmes is a Realtor and cookbook author. Her cooking show, “The Joy of Soul Food,” can be found on YouTube.

In between her emcee duties, she will sign copies of her cookbook, “Soul Food Volume 1: The Basics,” which was published last year. Holmes is on a mission to make soul food healthy by substituting healthier ingredients for some of the staples, like using olive oil instead of lard.

January 21, 2012

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CrossRoadsNews

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Health & Wellness

CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

Local health organizations will offer free screenings from noon to 5 p.m. at the Jan. 28 expo at the Lithonia mall.

Lots of screenings for common ailments available at expo Early diagnosis of most health problems can often lead to a good outcome, but many African-Americans don’t find out about their illnesses until they have progressed to a late stage and are more difficult to treat.

On Jan. 28, local health organizations will offer free screenings from noon to 5 p.m. at the annual CrossRoads­News Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Tests for diabetes will be offered by Amerigroup Community Care, DeKalb Medical, the Rotary Club of South DeKalb, and Oakhurst Medical Centers.

Screenings for high blood pressure will be offered by Healthy Living DeKalb, DeKalb Medical, Amerigroup and Oakhurst. Kaiser Permanente and the Rotary Club will offer BMI, or body mass index.

Flu shots will be available at the Healthy Living DeKalb table, and STAND Inc. will offer rapid HIV/AIDS tests.

Amerigroup is offering vision screenings, and you can get point-of-pain checks from Injury 2 Wellness and biochemistry tests from Premier Women’s Healthcare.

Rehab Works and Wellness plans to demonstrate ionic detox foot baths, a process involving electromagnetic impulses, sea salt and water that is said to release toxins from the body through the feet.

High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because onethird of the people with it do not know they have it. Free screenings will be available at the expo.

Free screenings and therapies at the Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo

Diabetes The diabetes test is taken from blood drawn from a finger prick. It assesses your blood sugar to determine if you have pre-diabetes or diabetes.

If the results register a glucose level higher than 200 mg/ dL and are accompanied by classic symptoms of unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and increased thirst and urination, then the doctor will suspect diabetes mellitus and will request a fasting blood glucose level test to confirm the results.

Blood

Flu HIV/

Detox Point-of- BioProvider Diabetes pressure BMI shots AIDS Vision foot bath pain checks chemistry Amerigroup 3 3 3 DeKalb Medical 3 3 Healthy Living DeKalb 3 3 Kaiser 3 Rehab Works and Wellness 3 3 Rotary Club of South DeKalb 3 STAND Inc. 3 Oakhurst Medical 3 3 Injury 2 Wellness 3 Premier Women’s Healthcare 3

High blood pressure Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is called the “silent killer” because about one-third of the people with it do not know they have it. High blood pressure is easy to diagnose.

You have hypertension if your blood pressure is more than 140/90. Because it has no symptoms, it’s important to have blood pressure measured by a nurse, physician or another knowledgeable person (including yourself).

To screen for it, you must be in a relaxed state, preferably are available in 12 minutes. From a private physician, the cost in a sitting position. Allow half an hour to have passed since of an HIV test is $100. your last cup of tea, exercise or stressful situation.

Body Mass Index (BMI) HIV/AIDS Physicians divide the patient’s weight in kilograms by The test for HIV/AIDS can be taken with blood or with height in inches to receive the BMI number. A BMI between the non-invasive OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV Test, done 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal; between 25-29.9 is overfrom a swab of the mucous membrane in the mouth. Results weight, and 30 or above is obese.

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January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness

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CrossRoadsNews

“Learning how to use herbs and spices is the best way to cut down on fat and salt.”

‘Life Chef ’ offers help for a good relationship with food

By Donna Williams Lewis

“Life Chef ” Asata Reid believes that eating healthy should never be a boring chore, and she delights in showing people “how delicious, nutritious and fun healthy cooking and eating can be.”

People should develop a good relationship with food, looking for the same things in food that they would want in a “significant other” relationship, Reid says.

For her, the food relationship should be “alluring, attractive, nurturing, inviting, bold, sexy, indulgent.”

“If it’s not, it’s a bad relationship, so kick it to the curb,” says Reid, 38.

The East Lake resident will be talking up healthy food relationships at the seventh annual CrossRoadsNews Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest on Jan. 28.

Reid will demonstrate some of her quick, healthy recipes at 3 p.m. on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level.

She also will offer time-saving tips on menu planning, food shopping, food prepping and cooking.

Here are some of her time-savers for improving your ways with food: n Meal planning. “Don’t overplan. Start by planning only as much as you can realistically eat,” Reid said.

In other words, don’t try to plan different menus for three meals a day plus two snacks seven days a week. Cook in double batches so you can have leftovers for lunch or dinner.

“If you don’t plan to eat, you end up eating whatever somebody left in the break room, picking off your kids’ plates, or going for the 99-cent menu at Wendy’s,” Reid said.

“People seem to act surprised that they have to come up with dinner every night even

Asata Reid will demonstrate some of her quick, healthy recipes at 3 p.m. at the Jan. 28 expo at the Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia.

Curtis Parker / CrossRoadsNews

though we have to come up with it every night.” n Shopping. Make your grocery list, then shop for everything at once. Shop at the same store or stores so you get to know where to find everything. n Prepping. When you get home from the grocery store, go ahead and prep the food you plan to cook right then. Cook rice, chop veggies, season or cook meat, for example, to save time at mealtime, Reid said. n Cooking. “Knowing your ingredients boosts your confidence,” Reid said. “Learning how to use herbs and spices is the best way

to cut down on fat and salt.”

If you could use help in that department, she suggests that people read cookbooks as they would any other book to learn how others use spices.

Also, sign up on blogs and Web sites so you can view recipes and be inspired by others’ creativity.

Reid demonstrates dishes and shares her knowledge in classes held at noon on second Saturdays monthly, except in August, at Sevananda Natural Foods Market, 467 Moreland Ave. The class costs $10 for Sevananda mem-

Follow the Life Chef Life Chef Asata Reid can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Here are other ways to reach her: Phone: 404-95D’LISH (404-953-5474) Classes and recipes: www.lifechef.net Videos: www.youtube.com/chefasata

bers and $12 for nonmembers.

Reid, who goes by the moniker “Life Chef ” because she teaches people to have healthy relationships with food, has been a chef at the Dish Restaurant, the Food Studio and Nikolai’s Roof, and the vegan restaurant Lush. She also has catered through Bold American Catering and has worked as a private chef with an upscale staffing company for private estates in Atlanta.

She teaches people how to let food fit their lifestyles. She works with families who want to eat better and people with health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancers and obesity. She conducts demonstrations at churches and community organizations and is on contract with the Kaiser Permanente Worksite Wellness Program to do one-hour lunch-and-learn sessions at companies.

Teaching people to cook is her passion.

When she meets newly diagnosed diabetics, she says “Congratulations.”

That’s not to be flippant.

“It’s an opportunity to turn things around,” Reid said. “It means you have to pay attention to your diet. … You get to learn how food treats you and how your numbers respond and you get to personalize your diet based on you. You can find out more about the foods you haven’t been eating that you can add to your repertoire.”

Healthy Relationships Make a Safer DeKalb ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS DON’T JUST HAPPEN TO ADULTS. One in three young people experience some form of dating abuse.

{

February is Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month.

}

JOIN ME ON JANUARY 28, 2012 12 noon to 5 p.m.

AT STONECREST MALL and take the pledge to stop teen dating violence.

Sherry Boston DEKALB COUNTY SOLICITOR-GENERAL

www.dekalbsolicitorgeneral.org 404.371.2201

follow us on facebook and twitter

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CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness Expo

Smith, a fitness trainer for 13 years, is married to Olympic gold medalist Gwen Torrence.

‘Super trainer’ promises new body in 30 days

By Donna Williams Lewis

Jody Smith’s clients are expected to work out with him or one of his associates at least three days a week.

Fitness trainer Jody Smith is known as “the super trainer.”

“They call me the super trainer because we can get people in shape in 30 days,” Smith said. “That means they will have a different body in 30 days.”

Smith, a fitness trainer for 13 years, is married to Olympic gold medalist Gwen Torrence.

He trains locally at Grady High School, Piedmont Park and Panthersville Stadium in south DeKalb County.

He also trains on the West Coast, counting celebrities among his clients who range in age from 2 to 82.

Among them is a formerly paralyzed woman who was able to run for the first time in 19 years with his help.

Another of his clients was a one-armed man.

“His fiancée said she was real pleased at the way I took the time to do drills that have helped him develop his shoulders and pectoral muscles,” Smith said. “It helped him get a new outlook on his body.”

On Jan. 28, Smith will showcase some of the routines he uses to motivate his Jody’s Body Beautiful clients during the 2012 Fitness FaceOff at the Mall at Stonecrest. The competition, one of the highlights of the annual CrossRoadsNews Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo, will feature eight personal trainers, fitness trainers and exercise coaches. The Fitness FaceOff kicks off at 1 p.m. from the Main Stage in front of

Sears on the mall’s lower level.

Smith, 42, says the secret to his success with people is just loving what he does. “I just love helping people and making someone want to work out.”

He does that by making people laugh so they forget about the pain that will lead to their gain.

“I’m always smiling and in a great mood, so I guess my attitude is contagious,” Smith said.

Since November, he’s been working out at Piedmont Park with a music producer who lives in Atlanta and Los Angeles and “13 or 14” of the artists from his music label.

“I got him in shape once before. Then he got back big … and now he’s trying to reinvent himself,” Smith said.

A Lithonia resident, Smith graduated from Morrow High School in Clayton County in 1987. He graduated from Life Chiropractic College in 1996.

He became a fitness trainer after catching the envy from people who saw his physique.

“A lot of people were asking me to show them how to get their abs and body like mine,” he said, “and I knew I didn’t want to punch a clock.”

Smith’s clients are expected to work out with him or one of his associates at least three days a week. He also sends them workout routines or does virtual workouts with them on the Web. To see some of his workouts, visit youtube.com and search “jody smith super trainer.”

To stay in shape, ‘keep it moving’

By Donna Williams Lewis

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Anita Adams has been a fitness instructor and personal trainer since her days as a student and step aerobics instructor at Grambling State University in Louisiana.

She teaches classes at the South DeKalb Family YMCA; at a couple of locations of Ladies Only Total Fitness; and at Emory, CNN and other locations through the Just Wellness health and fitness management company.

“My objective is to make sure people Anita Adams stay fit for life,” Adams said. “It doesn’t matter what age you are.

You can start where you are. The important thing is to keep it moving.”

Adams lives what she preaches, staying fit while she played high school basketball and served in the U.S. Air Force. After six years in the service, she left in 1992 with the rank of captain. Her last assignment was at Yokoto Air Base in Japan.

Adams’ classes include strength training, Pilates, yoga, “awesome abs,” and body sculpting.

On Jan. 28, she will showcase her techniques in the 2012 Fitness FaceOff during CrossRoadsNews’ annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The competition featuring eight personal trainers, fitness trainers and exercise coaches kicks off at 1 p.m. on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level.

Adams said she supports her students all the way.

“When I go into a class, I give 100 percent to whatever class it is,” she said. “It doesn’t matter whether there are three in the class or 20 or 25 in a classroom.”

Most of her students are over 20 years old, said Adams, who gives her own age as “a day over fabulous.”

“One lady in class is 78, and she’s awesome,” she said.

Adams plans to bring 10 of her step students to the Fitness FaceOff for a high-energy step class demonstration.

Her students step to everything from the latest Beyonce to good “old school” music.

“We keep it pumped!” she said.

For more information, e-mail Adams at adamsdeva@yahoo.com.

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CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness Expo

“Music is the motivation. If they roll with me enough, they’ll know … where the change is going to come.”

Spin instructor bikes on success

Tamisha Cosby will shed her corporate persona for a shot at the 2012 Fitness FaceOff Trophy.

She will bring along one of her success stories.

Star student motivates her teacher

By Donna Williams Lewis

By day, Tamisha Cosby is a button-down business analyst for a credit card processing company.

At night and on Saturdays, she turns into a certified fitness tiger, jumping, stepping and pushing a class into a calorie-burning frenzy.

“It’s a lot of fun, high intensity,” Cosby said of her advanced step aerobics classes, “and you can burn over 1,000 calories.”

But she doesn’t want anyone to feel intimidated. “I try to show them modifications and I always tell them to go at their own pace.

You have to start somewhere and starting somewhere means doing what you can do.”

Cosby, 37, also got the crowd in a frenzy at the 2011 Fitness FaceOff at the Mall at Stonecrest but was ultimately edged out of the trophy by Elgin Key. This year, she and Team Samson are coming back, ready to claim the trophy. She will be one of two teams from Samson’s Health & Fitness Center vying in the 2012 face-off

at the Jan. 28 CrossRoads­News’ Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo. The competition featuring eight personal trainers, fitness trainers and exercise coaches begins at 1 p.m. on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the lower level.

Joining her onstage will be a woman who started her class about two years ago weighing more than 300 pounds. She has lost more than 120 pounds, Cosby said, and motivates her teacher.

“Just seeing her determination – she can keep up with my movements. She looks fabulous.”

Cosby, who also teaches hip-hop dance, boot camps and kickboxing, says everyone should try to do some type of fitness workout at least three times a week, even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes. “It’s healthy for your heart, your mind and your soul. You look better and you feel better.”

For more information, contact Cosby at dancewithtamisha@gmail.com or 404427-8675.

All your protection under one roof

Will Fisher subbed his way from student to spin instructor with a unique “rhythm ride” at Anytime Fitness in Ellenwood.

By Donna Williams Lewis

Being the class clown paid off in a big way for Will Fisher, a five-year spin instructor at Anytime Fitness in Ellenwood.

Fisher was taking a Gold’s Gym spin class in 2008 when the instructor was late one day.

Just kidding around, he got the class started, giving orders to his classmates as though he were the teacher.

The teacher caught him in action, liked what he saw, and talked to the gym’s owner.

The next thing you know, Fisher was subbing for the gym’s teachers in a class that became so popular, some teachers complained that they were losing students to him.

Fisher said the draw is his technique – something he calls a “rhythm ride,” to the beat of old school, hip-hop and other music genres.

“Music is the motivation,” said Fisher, 51.

“If they roll with me enough, they’ll know

what song is playing and where the change is going to come.”

On Jan. 28, Fisher and some of his clients will be rolling in the 2012 Fitness FaceOff at CrossRoadsNews’ annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The competition, featuring eight personal and fitness trainers and exercise coaches, kicks off at 1 p.m. from the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level.

Fisher, whose day job is driving a UPS truck, says clients do more than spin the wheels of a bike to music.

They actually do push-ups and Zumba on their bikes, working the upper body as well as the lower body, he said.

Fisher said he’ll bring about five bikes to the Fitness FaceOff. “I will show [the audience] the commands I give, the type of riding I do, and the uniqueness of my class,” he said.

For more information, contact Fisher at wfisher4@bellsouth.net.

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B10

Health & Wellness

CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

“You must have a cheat day, where you eat your favorite junk food! Enjoy it and get back to your planned meals.”

Fitness and health a lifelong cause

By Donna Williams Lewis

Elfreda Smith is not your typical grandmother of four.

The 58-year-old is a certified fitness trainer who teaches up to 20 classes per week, from water aerobics and step aerobics to Pilates, cardio fusion and spin classes.

She is one of eight personal trainers, fitness instructors and coaches competing in the 2012 Fitness FaceOff at the Mall at Stonecrest on Jan. 28. This year she is back, hoping to claim the championship trophy that eluded her last year. The faceoff begins at 1 p.m. on the Main Stage near Sears at CrossRoadsNews’ annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Lithonia mall.

Smith’s devotion to health and fitness became a lifelong cause after her mother died of breast cancer at age 45 in 1971.

Smith was just 18. She eats no meat, except for fish. She takes no medications, not even aspirin.

And for Christmas this year, she and her children gave each other bikes – the kind you ride outside.

The grandchildren got tricycles.

Retired after 30 years as a manager for flight attendants at a major airline, Smith teaches classes at multiple locations, including the East Lake YMCA. She also works with clients in their homes, offering “Door 2 Door Fitness,” her company’s name.

Trainer Elfreda Smith, 58, said her message goes beyond She said her message goes be- exercise to helping people change how they view food. yond exercise to helping people change how they view food. She “Why did you eat three pieces of cake, doesn’t use the word “diet,” preferring “meal plan.” Smith, who lives in Decatur, supports two cups of ice cream?” she said. “If you were the theory of eating six small meals to keep hungry, plan your meals. If you crave it, eat your metabolism burning throughout the it. Just eat a little bit.”

Another tip: Celebrate small victories, day. She says meal plans should be simple such as: “I didn’t eat a slice of bread on but well-thought-out.

“Include nuts, berries, whole grain and Tuesday.”

She motivates people by reminding them stay away from a lot of sugar, white bread, white pasta and white rice,” Smith said. “You that they are breathing. “As long as you have must have a cheat day, where you eat your breath, then there is time for change, and you favorite junk food! Enjoy it and get back to have to create your own change. It’s not even about your size. It’s about your health.” your planned meals.”

She advises people to keep a journal of For more information, visit www.your what and when they eat to get to the why. mobilefitnesscompany.com.

Dwight Calhoun, a disabled veteran and stroke survivor, says exercise is important in the fight against childhood and adult obesity. “Working out is more of a ministry for me,” he said.

Line dancing adds fun to fitness

By Donna Williams Lewis

These days, it’s almost a given that at every family reunion, wedding or big party, a line dance will break out.

“It’s the hottest thing going!” says Dwight Calhoun, aka the Line Dance King.

Calhoun, a personal trainer and dance and fitness instructor, is helping children and adults shape up with his urban line dance fitness classes.

On Jan. 28, he will compete in the 2012 Fitness FaceOff at CrossRoadsNews’ annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The face-off featuring eight personal trainers, fitness instructors and coaches kicks off at 1 p.m. on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level.

Calhoun, who is a certified instructor, teaches about four times a day, 30 hours per week, at Emory University; the Southwest Arts Center; and in Columbus, Ga., at senior centers, a community center and in preschool programs.

On Saturdays, from 9 to 11 p.m., he leads line dance as part of the entertainment at Michon’s Smokehouse restaurant in Virginia-Highland.

Calhoun began dancing at age 4, inspired by legendary dancers Michael Jackson and James Brown.

He attended Clark Atlanta University in the late ’80s, serving for a time as the school’s Panther mascot.

Calhoun says that the energy and enthusiasm that got him that job carry through in his classes.

He began line dancing in 2008 to support a cousin in Columbus who wanted to lose weight. Now he is “Mr. Cardio-Tone,” another of his aliases, leading his students through 10 to 12 line dance workouts in 55-minute routines. He does about 40 different line dances.

“I keep it fresh,” said Calhoun, 45. “I change line dances every month or so, so you use different muscles.”

His signature statement: “Few can outdance me, but none can outlast me.”

Exercising is as important to Calhoun, a disabled veteran and stroke survivor, as it is to his students.

“Working out is more of a ministry for me,” he said. “I look at it as a social movement, especially with the childhood obesity and adult obesity in our country.”

For more information, e-mail Calhoun at mrcardiotone@yahoo.com.

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January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness

B11

CrossRoadsNews

“If you are fit, a lot of things like obesity, hypertension and stroke can be avoided or delayed.”

Dancer teaches basic steps on the journey to fitness

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

Lawanda Brokenborough’s classes include Zumba, step, kickboxing, aerobics, yoga and salsa. “If you are not fit, you open yourself to a lot of health problems.”

Trainer pushes clients to depart comfort zone, challenge selves

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

Lawanda Brokenborough is sure of two things.

Fitness can be fun, and for change to happen, people who exercise have to go outside their comfort zone.

“I emphasize putting intensity in the workout,” she said. “You have to work at your maximum. There has to be fatigue and exhaustion to see results.”

Brokenborough, who has been teaching fitness for 10 1/2 years, took her first class in June 2001 at the Piedmont Hospital Wellness Center. She was a quick study, and by September she was teaching her first class at the center. On Sept. 11, she was getting dressed for her second class when news of the terror attack on the World Trade Center canceled the class.

Since then, she has taught 25 to 32 classes a week at gyms, churches, recreation centers and corporate facilities. She also has done fitness training with sororities and other groups. Over the years, she has trained thousands to stay active.

On Jan. 28, she will showcase some of the exercise routines she uses to motivate clients as one of eight personal trainers, fitness

instructors and coaches competing in the 2012 Fitness FaceOff that begins at 1 p.m. at CrossRoadsNews’ Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Brokenborough said she decided to become an aerobics instructor after being in a job she didn’t like. “I was waiting tables and bartending when a light bulb came on.”

Her company, Aerobics Delivered, is mobile, and she travels across metro Atlanta training everyone from 18 to 50 how to stay active and healthy.

“If you are not fit, you open yourself to a lot of health problems,” she said. “If you are fit, a lot of things like obesity, hypertension and stroke can be avoided or delayed. Exercise can help prevent all of those things.”

Brokenborough teaches Zumba, step, kickboxing, aerobics, yoga, salsa, water aerobics and boot camp.

Her specialty is Zumba, the high-energy workout that mixes Brazilian, Latin and African dancing. “I teach the most intense Zumba class around,” she said.

In her one-hour classes, Brokenborough said serious exercisers can burn up to 1,000 calories. “If you want change, you should always choose classes that are a challenge,” she said.

A n d r e Wa l l a c e knows that fitness is not a fad or a trend, and that is why he teaches people basic moves they can do for life.

“Good health is a lifelong journey,” he said last week. “You have to have a realistic program that you can stick with.”

Wallace is one of eight fitness instructors, personal trainers and coaches competing in the 2012 Fitness FaceOff on Jan. 28 that starts at 1 p.m. during CrossRoadsNews’ annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

He is part of Team Samson from Samson’s Health & Fitness Center at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia.

Wallace, a dancer and choreographer, has been teaching fitness classes since 2002. He began at the Covington YMCA teaching fitness at the Y’s Teen Camps and after-school proTeam Samson’s Andre Wallace says you “have to have a realistic grams. He said young program that you can stick with.” people are easy to teach because they don’t focus on how they look when they are exer- in his workouts and teaches people four to cising and are willing to try new things. seven basic steps for the their legs, abs and These days he teaches everyone – men, arms. He teaches them the proper way to women and children – at a number of squat, bend and reach so that they won’t metro gyms, including Samson’s, Ladies injure themselves when exercising or in their Fitness Only and the Covington Y. He does daily lives. corporate fitness training at Delta, CNN “Once they know how to do these lunges, and the Coca-Cola Co. squats and crunches, they can do them to the Wallace does salsa fitness parties and music they love.” daylong jams where large groups dance Wallace’s face-off entry will be hightogether to music played by a DJ. energy: “It’s Caribbean cardio. There will be He says he uses Latin-Caribbean music a lot of jumps and squats.”

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B12

Health & Wellness

CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

The panel will judge the competition that begins at 1 p.m. and features eight personal trainers, fitness instructors and coaches.

Fitness FaceOff judges have lots of passion for exercise

By Donna Williams Lewis

The thumbs up or down on the 2012 Fitness FaceOff belongs to certified personal trainers Elgin Key and Kevin Peoples and DeKalb State Court Judge Eleanor Ross.

The three celebrities will be judging the fitness competition that takes place through the CrossRoadsNews annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo on Jan. 28 at the Mall at Stonecrest.

This year’s competition that begins at 1 p.m. on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level will feature eight personal trainers, fitness instructors and coaches who will show off the fun routines they use to get their clients excited about exercising.

Key, who teaches exercise classes at seven fitness facilities in Atlanta, walked away with the inaugural FaceOff Champion Trophy last year.

He is certified in personal training, yoga and other exercise programs and knows how to get clients pumped up about fitness with energetic routines.

Elgin Key

Kevin Peoples

Key is a Southwest DeKalb High and Morehouse College graduate, and in 1996 he helped the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony in Atlanta.

Peoples is a former professional football player who started with the Washington Redskins in 1999 and ended his career with the BC Lions in Vancouver, British Columbia,

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in 2003.

He has earned three nationally accredited certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine — CPT for certified personal trainer, PES for performance enhancement specialist, and CES for corrective exercise specialist.

Peoples has trained professional and

collegiate athletes in speed, strength, conditioning and functional training.

He trains professional and general clientele in homes and facilities throughout Atlanta, including Samson’s Health and Fitness Center in Lithonia.

Since her appointment to the DeKalb State Court bench in May, veteran prosecutor Eleanor Ross has been passing judgment on weighty criminal issues, but she is as much an advocate for fitness as she is for the law.

In 2005, while taking a temporary leave from the legal profession to be a stayat-home mother, she became a certified aerobics instructor and started a fitness ministry at New Life Baptist Church, where she is a member.

During that time, she taught an aerobics class, an after-school fitness class and a senior aerobics class.

From 2007 to 2010, she served in the liturgical dance ministry at New Life, including as a dance teacher/coach to youth. She also coached two seasons of soccer at the South DeKalb YMCA.

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January 21, 2012

B13

CrossRoadsNews

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B14

CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

Best of East Metro Atlanta

Nominate your choices for the best that East Metro has to offer Tell Us Who’s Best!

Who gives the best haircut in East Metro Atlanta? Where is the best car repair shop or BBQ joint? Walking trail? Most romantic restaurant?

Here’s your chance to recognize people and organizations who provide you with best services around. Winners of the Best of East Metro Reader’s Choice Awards will be honored at our Best of East Metro / Small Business Expo on April 24 at the Mall at Stonecrest.

Nominate yourself or your favorites now, and get your customers, friends, family and supporters to vote for you when voting begins in February.

Please complete and return your nominations by Jan. 31, 2012. You can also place nominations at www.eastmetromarket.com.

Nominees must be located within the CrossRoadsNews coverage area that includes ZIP codes in East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Clarkston, Conyers, Decatur, Ellenwood, Lithonia, Scottdale, Snellville, Stone Mountain and Tucker.

Best Homeowners Association____________________ Street Address*: _______________________________ ZIP*: ________________________________________

Best Late Night Eats_ ___________________________ Street Address*: _______________________________ ZIP*: ________________________________________

Community of Faith Best Large Church______________________________ Street Address*: _______________________________ ZIP*: ________________________________________

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E n. 2 C Public Affairs N Ja A Best Local Activist______________________________ H e C s Street Address*: _______________________________ T clo S ZIP*: ________________________________________ A ns L Best Local Character____________________________i o t Street Address*: _______________________________ a n i ZIP*: ________________________________________ m o Best Local Entrepreneur_ ________________________ N Street Address*: _______________________________ * Street Address and ZIP code required for all nominees.

NOTE: CrossRoadsNews does not create the Best of East Metro ballot. Readers’ submissions determine who is on the ballot.

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Best Ethnic Grocery____________________________ Street Address*: _______________________________ ZIP*: ________________________________________

E T A N I M R O U N YO ITES R E O m V o N c .

I A s F NsLroadsnew O s o r c . ww Best Christian School_ __________________________ Street Address*: _______________________________ ZIP*: ________________________________________

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January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness

B15

CrossRoadsNews

Bowers says line dancing is a fun way for the group to care for their aging bodies, and members also have lost weight in the process.

High-stepping Beulah Boys to bring the house down

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

In demand is the phrase that best describes the Beulah Boys these days.

Since the high-stepping, booty-shaking line dancers performed at Cross­Roads­News’ Family and Back-to-School Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest in August, they have been entertaining audiences all over Atlanta. Nick Bowers, the group’s spokesman, said it’s been hectic.

“We have been really busy,” he said, ticking off a list of performances they’ve had.

Over the recent holiday season, they performed at the SCLC Christmas Eve party and the Georgia World Congress Center and went back there for Kiss 104.1’s Youngblood’s New Year’s Eve Bash.

In between, they returned home to Beulah Baptist Family Life Center for a number of appearances and showed out at the Lou Walker Center.

On Jan. 28, they will be back at the Mall at Stonecrest for CrossRoadsNews’ annual Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo.

The Beulah Boys take the Main Stage at 4 p.m. on the mall’s lower level in front of Sears. They will showcase some of the line dances that are keeping them fit and making them famous.

Bowers said the group enjoys performing in the expos.

“That’s a big event for us,” he said. “We love coming there.”

The eight members range in age from 58 to 70. But these are no ready-for-therocking-chair geezers. When they take to the stage, they bring smiles to people in the audience, and women half their ages have been known to throw dollar bills at them.

Bowers and his buddies – Luther Walker, Leon Nolton, Willie Banks, Hubert Jackson,

The line-dancing Beulah Boys have become an inspiration to the young and old.

They will perform at 4 p.m. at the Jan. 28 expo at Stonecrest.

Jerry Heard, Sam Swain and William Rogers – began line dancing in 2010 as a form of exercise.

The men boast two knee replacements and a hip replacement among them, but to watch them hop, skip, shuffle, wobble and shake their booty, you couldn’t guess who has artificial joints.

They had so much fun at it and looked so good together, senior centers started inviting them to perform.

One thing led to another, and invitations began pouring in from across metro Atlanta and from cities as far away as Philadelphia.

Bowers, who at 58 is the group’s youngest member, says line dancing is a fun way for the

group to work out and care for their aging bodies, and members also have lost weight in the process.

They also have become an inspiration to elderly men and women and to people who are a fraction of their ages.

For more information, call Nick Bowers at 404-310-0067.

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1/4/12 4:15 PM

B16

CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

“Dentistry with a dental touch”

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January 21, 2012

Health & Wellness

B17

CrossRoadsNews

Jenae German says her mission is to instill self-esteem, discipline and creativity through dance, art and drama.

Jenae’s young dancers to strut their stuff at expo Jenae’s Dance Experience students will perform a routine titled “Around the World” at 3:45 p.m. at the Jan. 28 expo.

The students of Conyers-based Jenae’s Dance Experience – J’DE – will strut their stuff on the stage of the 2012 Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest.

The repertoire of the 8- to 13-year-old dancers includes ballet, tap, African, jazz, hip-hop and drama.

Jenae German, the school’s director, says her mission is to instill self-esteem, self-respect, self-confidence, discipline and creativity into her students through dance, visual arts and drama.

The year-round J’DE program is located at the Barksdale Boys and Girls Club, 1015 O’Kelly St. in Conyers.

Offerings include a “Winter Wonders” show and raffle, end-of-the-school-year concert and awards ceremony, and a Summer Arts Program.

Classes run 45 to 60 minutes and include 20 minutes for drama rehearsals.

At the expo, which takes place noon to 5 p.m., German says her students will dance a routine titled “Around the World.”

They will be on the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level at 3:45 p.m.

The Mall at Stonecrest is at I-20 and Turner Hill Road in Lithonia. For more information, visit www.jenaesdance experience.com.

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B18

Health & Wellness

CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

“Most importantly, we love demonstrating to our seniors a fun and easy way to stay active and fit.”

Savvy, well-seasoned Sassy Divas put soul in line dancing

By Donna Williams Lewis

Six women in their 60s are showing folks around metro Atlanta that there is no age limit on sexy.

The “Sassy Divas,” a soul line dance group of retirees based at the Beulah Family Life Center in Decatur, have been strutting their stuff for two years.

“We love being able to bring a smile to many faces through our performances,” said Louise Gordon, the group’s spokeswoman and member. “Most importantly, we love demonstrating to our seniors a fun and easy way to stay active and fit.”

The Sassy Divas will demonstrate their prowess at CrossRoadsNews’ Health, Wellness & Beauty Expo at the Mall at Stonecrest on Jan. 28. They will take the Main Stage in front of Sears on the mall’s lower level at 2:20 p.m.

Since their launch, the Divas have performed at North DeKalb Mall, Fulton County government, senior centers, churches and at last year’s DeKalb County 2011 Senior Olympics.

All of the action is taking a welcome toll on their bodies.

Gordon said she has lost pounds and inches in the past year.

“It has been a vital factor in my weight loss/fitness program, where I lost 15 pounds and over 10 inches and improved health [blood pressure and cholesterol levels],” Gordon said. “We all share a passion for dancing as a social activity for meeting other line dancers and new friends.”

The Sassy Divas also must know what they’re doing.

They won first place in a talent competition at North DeKalb Mall and placed second in the Line Dance competition at the Senior

Gerri Ricks (from left), Irma Pugh, Louise Gordon, Brenda Grier, Carolyn Cobb and Dorothy Marshall perform as the linedancing Sassy Divas of the Beulah Family Life Center.

Olympics.

They lost only to their brother organization, the high-stepping, line-dancing Beulah Boys. Both groups grew out of a line dancing class taught at the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church Family Life Center in Decatur.

Dance instructor Jan Martin was their impetus, encouraging them to take their shows on the road. She says the Sassy Divas are some “super seniors.”

The women take one-hour line dancing classes three days a week and have Sassy Divas practice three times a week.

“They go all across the board, from slow

line dances to moderate and very fast line dances,” Martin said. “They have a regular practice schedule. Everybody is expected to be there and ready to dance … to make sure their performances are flawless.”

Most of them work out in other ways.

They swim, jog and play water volleyball.

Wearing blouses bearing their logo, the Sassy Divas dance primarily to R&B, with Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” one of their mainstays.

“We are looking at using some gospel music because occasionally we get invited to perform at churches,” Martin said.

Upcoming events include a Valentine’s Day affair for couples at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church.

Line dancing, Martin said, “is healthy for your heart, your mind and your soul. You look better and you feel better.”

You also don’t need a dance partner. And, “it’s so much fun,” she added.

People who tell her they can’t line dance because they have two left feet get this answer: “You’ve got two left feet? Bring them both and have a good time!”

For more information, call Louise Gordon at 770-323-9589 or 404-561-4467.

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January 21, 2012

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CrossRoadsNews

January 21, 2012

In an EMERGENCY when minutes matter, we’re in the neighborhood.

The Emergency Department at Hughes Spalding.

In a medical emergency there’s no substitute for experience. The Children’s at Hughes Spalding Emergency Department is staffed by board certified emergency medicine pediatricians who can handle everything from fevers to broken bones. So don’t worry. We’re right here when you need us.

To learn more, visit www.choa.org/hughesspalding 35 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, SE

©2012 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding is owned by Grady Health System® and managed by HSOC Inc., an affiliate of Children’s. Some physicians and affiliated healthcare professionals who perform services at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta are independent providers and are not our employees.