By Korri Kezar
Special to the Pflag

Cars packed the parking lot of Connally High School Saturday for the Pflugerville school district’s fifth annual health fair.

The event was started 11 years ago by Murchison Elementary School physical education coach Docia Craft as a part of the national Jump Rope for Heart program. Five years ago, the health fair was added on by the district, resulting in a one-day, four-hour program with health and fitness demonstrations, performers, booths, vaccinations and other health care services.

“Our district took leadership about five years ago and one of the initiatives we took was to start a district-wide health fair,” Craft said.

This year’s fair drew in more than 1,100 faculty, parents and students from throughout the district. The district’s technology department won $250 to support worksite wellness after having 17 percent of the staff attend and sign in at the event.

Participants also entered into contest for door prizes and drawings, winning items like a pogo stick and goodie bag from Seton Healthcare, in addition to services offered from area businesses.

“What we offered was very diverse. We took care of you from head to toe,” Craft said.

Also, event-goers browsed hundreds of booths offering services from free eye exams offered by Pflugerville Vision Care to massages by Massage Envy. Lines for immunizations stretched from the cafeteria stage and out the doors. Local businesses including Juice Plus, the Austin/Travis County Department of Health and Human Services and Championship Hearts Foundation gave out free items and brochures to the hundreds that packed into the school’s cafeteria.

Bright Smile Dental, a Pflugerville dental office, attended the fair for the first time this year. As a new business, employee Nahut Garcia said it was important to have community exposure.

“This is awesome,” Garcia said about the fair. “We’re really getting familiar with the community.”

Vicki Dennis, parent of two Dessau Elementary School students, said she enjoyed the health information the fair had to offer.

“I come to get some info and learn something that I might not have known before,” Dennis said.

Maria Gonzales agreed. Gonzales, whose children are enrolled at Windermere Elementary School, has attended the fair every year.

“I come for the information. It’s good to know,” she said. “They come for their friends,” she added of her children.

Fair attendees also had the chance to enjoy several performances put on by local organizations. The Pflugerville school district police held a police canine demonstration, and school groups like the Riojas Elementary School jump rope team, the Hot Shots jump rope team and the Highland Park Elementary School ballet folk dancers displayed their talents.

“People we’re cheering and dancing and square dancing and jumping the entire time,” Craft said. “We actually get more people with the diversity of our performances than we did with just jumping rope.”

Plans are already slated for the 2013 health fair, which Craft hopes will be even bigger and better than this year.

“I tell you, we are already on the ball,” she said. “Next year we hope we can get some television stations out to cover us, since were kind of on the fringe.”