1961

Steve Bradish got some major ink in the Boston Globe over the summer for leading the fight against Wal-Mart in Williston, Vt. Steve and his wife, Linda, head Williston Citizens for Responsible Growth and are trying to keep Wal-Mart out of town. Vermont is the last state without a Wal-Mart or a Sam’s Club.

In a story the Globe headlined, “The Battle of Vermont,” the newspaper described a myriad of techniques that Williston Citizens for Responsible Growth has used in the fight. The biggest were Vermont’s tough land-use law, Act 250, which governs residential, com- mercial and public development, and a pub- lic-relations campaign suggesting commercial development was overrunning the state. Wal- Mart has seen already-issued permits revoked, and lawsuits have gone to Vermont’s Supreme Court. As the time of the article, the group, and others like it, had successfully kept Wal- Mart out of die state. In Williston, the chain was planning a 132,000-square-foot Sam’s Club and a 114,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, which would be among Vermont’s biggest developments.

“I can’t say for sure whether Wal-Mart will be here in five years, but I sure hope they won’t,” said Steve.

Bob Naegele writes that Bill Horton “was honored as one of the ten recipients of the 1993 Healthy American Fitness Leaders Award. The award ceremony was held at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz. It was a black-tie event—600 people in attendance— including prominent luminaries in the fitness field, among them many former award recip- ients and Olympic medalists. Very impressive. It is referred to as the Academic Award of U.S. fitness.”

Nags sent along die program for die event, which said the award is presented annually to ten individuals “who have made significant contributions to the promotion of fitness and health in their communities and the country.” The citation for Bill said he is “president and founder of Fitness Systems, a leading provider of worksite fitness-program management ser- vices in the United States. He was the first to initiate a computerized fitness program. Hor- ton has helped some 70,000 individuals become more physically fit through his firm’s services to more than 200 companies nationwide.” Most of the judges were either prior winners or Olympic medalists.

Nags was there with the Rollerblade Demo Van, heading up a team giving lessons and demonstrations in in-line skating as part of die event’s Fitness Fling: “Leant the skills and techniques of in-line skating from certified pro- fessionals.” As the Rollerblade continues to gain popularity, it sounds like Bob could be another candidate for the award. Two in one class?

Bruce Forester had yet another thriller, Bleedout, published in July by Pinnacle Books. He was slated to sign copies in the Dart- mouth Bookstore over Dartmouth Night weekend. Unlike his earlier works, you won’t find Bruce’s name on this one. Instead, he’s become “Brad Fairchild.” So how does he sign his autographs? And should I tell you my mmde plume is Robert Saxon? Naw, it’s not been on enough good stuff yet to mention. Maybe some day.

Q Bradish and his wife, Linda, head a Vermont group that is trying to keep Wal-Mart out of town. W -Bob Conn ’6l

Bowman Gray School of Med- icine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston- Salem NC 27157-1015